Quantifying the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies and farmers' access to credit in South Africa.

The damaging effects of climate change on agricultural productivity are on the increase. Relevant adaptation strategies are important to cope with climate change risks and sustain agricultural productivity. This study employed descriptive statistics, multivariate probit (MVP) model and endogenous switching regression model (ESRM), to analyze the data collected using a survey questionnaire from four provinces in South Africa. The study estimated the determining factors influencing the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies and credit access among smallholder farmers in the study areas. The empirical results of the multivariate probit model showed that location, access to extension, non-farm income, farming experience, crop and livestock production, susceptibility, agricultural training and access to credit variables influenced the smallholder decision to adopt climate change adaptation strategies. On the other hand, the ESRM showed that location, age, marital status, gender among others, influenced the decision to adopt climate change adaptation strategies. The variables such as location, education, drought experience affected the smallholder farmers' access to credit. Thus, to improve the adaptive capacity of farmers, stakeholders and government must cooperate and collaborate to improve the conditions under which farmers can gain access to climate change information and suitable agricultural credit as well as policy incentives to ensure overall sustainability of the agricultural sector.

Does social capital improve farm productivity and food security? Evidence from cocoa-based farming households in Southwestern Nigeria.

This study investigated the impact of social capital on farm productivity and food security among cocoa-based farming households in Southwestern, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was employed to select 300 cocoa-based farming households for the study. Two-step Heckman and three-stage simultaneous models were used for the analyses. The results of a two-step Heckman model revealed that asset, age of household head, years of education, gender, farm size, land tenure, loan interest rate and extension visits were the determining factors influencing the probability of participating in social groups. While the level of participation in the social groups were determined by age of household head, years of education, membership in agricultural organization, off farm income, land tenure, interest rate, distance to credit sources, extension visit, decision making index, cash contribution index, and labour contribution index. The simultaneous equation models showed that social capital was positive and significantly influenced farm productivity and food security of the cocoa-based farming households. A unit increase in the instrumented social capital increased the household's farm productivity and food security by 0.577 kg/₦ and 0.861 calories, respectively. The study concluded that social capital enhanced farm productivity and improved food security of the cocoa-based farming households. The study therefore, recommends that rural credit should be given to cocoa farming households based on their social collateral. This would enhance cocoa farming households' access to productive resource and thus achieve financial leverage that would further boost farm productivity. Enhanced farm productivity would improve their food security status.

Developing a Conceptual Model for Sustainable water Resource Management and Agricultural Development: the Case of the Breede River Catchment Area, South Africa.

The complex relationship that exists between water resources and agricultural production has been increasing constantly globally. Several factors are interacting to influence the management of water resources making the system complex and dynamic. To increase the understanding of these complex and dynamic systems, relevant tools are needed to identify the causal relationships that exist between the drivers and their influences on the system. Participatory modelling based on the system dynamics approach provides a simplistic and visualisation tool that can improve the understanding of the functioning of a complex and dynamic system. A multi-stage participatory approach was used in this study involving relevant stakeholders in the development of an integrated conceptual system dynamic model using causal loop diagrams. This approach was used because it captures the thought process and mental model of relevant stakeholders in the development of the model, making it a valuable tool for policy and decision making at government and individual levels. The integrated model built in this study used causal loop diagrams to address problems of water management and agricultural sustainability in the Breede River Catchment. The model shows major causal-relationships and feedback loops that determine the functioning of the overall system. The model demonstrates the usefulness of the participatory approach in solving problems related to water management and agricultural development in the catchment.