Exploring the barriers to the adoption of climate-smart irrigation technologies for sustainable crop productivity by smallholder farmers: evidence from South Africa

    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Serote, Batizi (author), Mokgehle, Salmina (author), Senyolo, Grany (author), Plooy, Christian du (author), Hlophe‐Ginindza, Samkelisiwe (author), Mpandel, Sylvester (author), Nhamo, Luxon (author), and Araya, Hintsa (author)
    Format:
    Journal article
    Publication Date:
    2023-01-19
    URL:
    https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13020246
    Published:
    Switzerland: MDPI
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12769
    Journal Title:
    Agriculture
    Journal Title Details:
    Vol. 13, Iss. 2
    Subject Term:
    agriculture research, food security, rural areas, rural communities, sustainable agriculture, technology adoption, sustainable development, climate change, South Africa (Africa, Southern), adaptation, smallholder farmers, irrigation technologies, socio‐economic constraint, and climate smart
    Notes:
    21 pages, Climate change continues to impact the livelihoods of smallholder farmers due to low adaptive capacity. In South Africa, the challenge is exacerbated by water scarcity and shortened crop-growing seasons. Climate-smart irrigation innovative technologies (CSIT) enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience to climate change. However, there is still a limited level of effective adoption and usage of these technologies in smallholder communities. This study investigated the barriers affecting the adoption of CSIT in rural areas of the Vhembe and Capricorn districts in Limpopo Province, South Africa. We explored the farmers’ socioeconomic factors extracted from farmers’ perceptions of CSIT-specific attributes. A multi-stage randomized sampling technique was used to select 100 smallholder farmers (SHF). Data analyzed by descriptive statistics such as percentages and frequency distribution are presented in graphs and tables. According to the findings, insufficient communication channels, a lack of financial availability, unstable land tenure systems, and insufficient training are the main obstacles to implementing CSIT. There is a need for policy and decision-makers to improve the communication channels for disseminating agro-meteorological information to the intended beneficiaries.

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