Perception of Farmers on Climate Change and Adaptation in Limpopo Province of South Africa

AbstractThis paper investigated the perception of farmers on climate change and adaptation in Limpopo province in South Africa. A sample of 300 farmers aged 16 - 65+ years (46 percent males and 54 percent females) participated in the study. The study involved Sekhukhune and Capricorn districts, with 56 percent farmers in Capricorn and 44 percent in Sekhukhune district. The following 11 local municipalities were visited: Elias Motsoaledi, Makhuduthamaga, Fetakgomo, Ephraim Mogale, Tubatse, Lepelle Nkumpi, Blouberg, Aganang, Polokwane, and Molemole. Purposeful sampling technique was used to select three hundred farmers to be interviewed in order to cover uniformity and homogenous characteristics of farmers. The questionnaire included matters relating to climate change and agricultural production were used in the interviews. The nature of the research and the contents of the questionnaire were explained to them. Focus group discussion was conducted after face to face interviews with farmers. The research was analysed with software package for social scientists (SPSS) and the following analyses were done: Descriptive analysis and Univariate analysis. The results showed that there is a great association among gender, employment, information of climate change, adaptation to climate change, information received through extension services, food scarcity, food security and agricultural production.