Assessing South Africa's institutional adaptive capacity to maize production in the context of climate change: Integration of a socioeconomic development dimension

Abstract

The deployment of adaptation plans to limit the threat of climate change often hinges on the capacity of various national and local institutions. An observed decline in South Africa's maize production over the last few decades has raised questions about the capacity of institutions responsible for providing climate change‐related adaptive support to maize farmers in the country. This study assessed the adaptive capacity of management institutions in South Africa supporting maize producers, using a combination of literature review, document analysis, and in‐depth interviews applied in the adaptive capacity wheel (ACW) assessment tool. On the basis of the results obtained from this analysis, the adaptive capacity of South African institutions responsible for climate change response processes was scored as medium. Findings from the research suggest that the advances made to date in South Africa in terms of climate change‐related policy development, resource allocation, and capacity development could be inadequate, given the extent of identified institutional weaknesses, capacity constraints, knowledge, and information limitations. The study concludes that an inability to address current institutional limitations, considering the threats associated with climate change, may result in intensified social and economic challenges in the maize production sector. The study recommends the consistent revision and capacitation of these institutions to enable them to provide the type of support that will ensure effective adaptive responses for farmers involved in maize production in the country. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1056–1069. © 2021 SETAC

Behavioral Intentions towards Climate-Smart Practices and Rural Farmer’s Food-Nutrition Security: A Micro Economic-Level Evidence

“…South Africa is situated as the southernmost nation on the African continent, with a land area of 1,221,037 square kilometers (Akanbi et al, 2021). The country is limited to the south by the South Atlantic, which has a coastline of 2,798 km, and to the north by Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe.…”

“…Interestingly, maize farming is the backbone of the majority of South African rural farm households, and it is farmed in numerous places throughout the nation owing to its tolerance to varied climatic conditions (Akanbi et al, 2021;Issahaku & Abdulai, 2020). It is a staple food crop that accounts for about 70% of the country's total grain production, covers approximately 65% of cropping land area, and its cultivation is critical for ensuring FNS and supporting the livelihoods of many rural farm households through revenue generation and job creation (Aidoo et al, 2021;Ricart et al, 2022).…”

“…-40% lower maize yields in Southern Africa) leading to poor food-nutrition security (FNS) of the households (Akanbi et al, 2021;Tione et al, 2022). Notably, grain yields in South Africa especially maize which is the major staple food of the households have declined by 25% (Akanbi et al, 2021;Akano et al, 2023;Bahri et al, 2021).…”

“…-40% lower maize yields in Southern Africa) leading to poor food-nutrition security (FNS) of the households (Akanbi et al, 2021;Tione et al, 2022). Notably, grain yields in South Africa especially maize which is the major staple food of the households have declined by 25% (Akanbi et al, 2021;Akano et al, 2023;Bahri et al, 2021). Thus, this situation had severe impacts on the livelihoods and FNS of rural farmers, who contribute around 65% of the country's food system (Akanbi et al, 2021).…”

“…It is anticipated that climate change will continue to have a detrimental impact on agricultural production, leading to food-nutrition insecurity (Atta- Aidoo et al, 2022). Consequently, yields from rain-fed agriculture would be decrease by as much as 50 percent by 2020 in South Africa, significantly impacting access to food by rural households (Akanbi et al, 2021;Omotoso et al, 2023). In light of these pessimistic projections, it is unsurprising that the implementation of CSA practices is crucial for sustaining food crop yields (Atta- Aidoo et al, 2022).…”