Climate change is a threat to agricultural productivity and the overwhelming effects of climate change hinders the quest for sustainable agriculture, with the aim of satisfying the increasing demands for food and fiber. Adaptation to the ever-changing climate is a necessity for the agricultural sector. The study was conducted in Nkomazi Local Municipality. The study assessed the adoption of conservation agriculture in relation to climate change by smallholder farmers. Focus group discussion, structured and semistructured questionnaires were used to randomly collect data from selected smallholder farmers. The data was analyzed using the binary logistics regression model to determine adoption behavior of farmers in the use of conservation agriculture. Logistic regression result show that several predictor variables were found to significantly influence the adoption behavior of smallholder farmers in the area. The study noted the existence of significant variables to include age, education, household size, income, number of children, and adoption of conservation agricultural practice. Marital status of the farmers was found not to be significant and never to influence the adoption behavior of farmers with a p-value of (0.911) and co-efficient of (0.102). Furthermore, thoughtful decision process and smallholder farmers' capacity development and training on conservation techniques must be accentuated. It is therefore, recommended that future research be undertaken on the extent to which the effects of climate change affect farmer's productivity as well as the lack of youth involvement in agricultural production in the study area.

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Ecosystems play a huge role in support of human life, this is evident through their provision of food, fiber, water and fuel. However, these potentials are reduced through human activities, which comes with the lack of conservation of our forests. Deforestation is one of the major issues as far as sustainable development is concerned. Deforestation contributes towards soil erosion, particularly, in forests across the world. Soil erosion deprives human beings of the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of harvesting the forests’ potential towards supporting human life, which includes the release of oxygen and the uptake of carbon dioxide. Thus, the concept of conservation agriculture becomes of paramount importance. Hence, this paper explored the implications of Conservation Agriculture in Forest management and evaluated policies in place to promote the adoption and use of conservation agriculture across the globe.

Deforestation is induced by human activities, cascading into associated cost and economic benefits. The concepts, dimensions and, deforestation caused by deliberate human activities were extensively examined. The chapter also highlighted the rationale for deforestation, environmental dimension to deforestation and contributions of forestry and forest by products to livelihoods. The segmented cases and experiences to create awareness on the need to discourage deforestation were explored. While recognizing that forest provides useful support for majority of rural dwellers, the justification for forest protection is advocated. Some communities depend on forests for their main livelihood, and use medicinal therapies derived from indigenous plants found in the forest. Forest remains an important pool of biodiversity and deforestation must be avoided. The chapter conclude that awareness of the impact of deforestation by the citizenry should be encouraged and supported by policies.

Agriculture plays an important role for income generation, economic growth, and employment for majority of people. Agricultural production has become the very means of alleviating poverty. In pursuit to meet the growing demand for food to sustain the ever-growing population, the need to salvage farming and farm productions from extreme climate events using water smart practices remains paramount. The conservation of water resources for a water-scare country, such as South Africa, is important for agricultural development. Water-smart agriculture aims at addressing issues associated with water availability, water use efficiencies as well as water conservation for optimal production. The study was conducted in Chochocho, Bushbuckridge Local Municipality, South Africa. The aim of the study was to examine the adoption of water smart agriculture, and to determine the water use efficient practices employed by farmers in the study area. Random sampling method was employed, and data was collected using structured and semistructured questionnaires as well as focus group discussion. Furthermore, the descriptive and inferential statistics were used to explain responses from respondents and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 27) software was used for the analysis. The study found that farmers' adoption of water smart agriculture practices was hinged on several heterogeneous variables. The study recommends amongst others, the need to conserve water for agricultural production, and water infrastructural development for local food security must be improved. Additionally, water demand and supply management issues must be addressed.