On November 7, President Cyril Ramaphosa released a letter to the nation on climate change. He indicated that this year's floods, the Table Mountain wildfires and the locust plague in parts of the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape are all associated with climate change and that our common future depends on climate action now.
Our farmers face a serious threat from climate change and erratic weather patterns which will hit their financial wellbeing. Some businesses may find it less appealing to operate as their profit margins are being squeezed by high input costs. Farmers are now planting for the 2022/23 production season after the recent rains, after big spikes in the price of fertiliser, electricity, diesel and transport, among others.
High fertiliser and fuel prices are a major concern and small to medium farmers will be the worst hit. Another factor is higher debt costs brought on by rising interest rates. These factors are likely to hurt overall profitability.
To survive in the changing environment, every agribusiness, including farming, will have no choice but to adopt technologies that contribute to environmental sustainability. They will also have to incorporate insurance into their risk-management processes.
Extreme weather incidents that destroy farm infrastructure are increasing. Sustainable environmental farming practices are the future, and adoption of technology has become more crucial to the production of agricultural food. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certification is now a requirement to access markets.
GAP applies available knowledge to address environmental, economic and social sustainability for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy agricultural products. It set standards for the safe and sustainable production of crops and livestock and aims to help farm owners maximise yields and optimise business operations while minimising production costs and environmental impact.
Effects of climate change on agriculture include raised heat stress as temperatures increase, more frequent and intense extreme events such as flooding and drought, changing rainfall patterns, shifting lengths and durations of growing seasons, and changes in the prevalence of pests and disease.
The farming community at large has a key role in facilitating the climate-smart transformation of the sector to manage the threats of climate change, but also to unlock the opportunities of climate-smart technologies and practices.
• Mabuza is an agricultural economist in the agriculture advisory division at Land Bank. She writes in her personal capacity. The views expressed in this article are her own and do not necessarily represent policy positions of the bank.
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