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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Clim.
Sec. Climate Adaptation
Volume 6 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fclim.2024.1458999
This article is part of the Research Topic Sustainable Cropping Systems for Small Grain Crops for Smallholder Farmers View all 4 articles

The impact of access to climate services on smallholder farmers' cropping decisions and household food security in Elundini municipality, Eastern Cape province

Provisionally accepted
Yanga-Inkosi Nocezo Yanga-Inkosi Nocezo 1,2*Jabulile Z. Manyike Jabulile Z. Manyike 2Leocadia Zhou Leocadia Zhou 1Saul Ngarava Saul Ngarava 3
  • 1 University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
  • 2 Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
  • 3 Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, Netherlands

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The study assesses how access to climate services influences cropping decisions and, subsequently, household food security. Employing a cross-sectional research design, the study surveyed a total of 217 smallholder crop farmers selected through a multi-stage sampling approach. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and both descriptive statistics and a Propensity Score Matching model were employed for data analysis. Household food security was assessed using households' dietary diversity. The study's findings highlight that 69% of the surveyed farmers had access to weather forecasts, while only 24% had access to seasonal forecasts. Consequently, farmers with access to climate services exhibited changes in their farming decisions, including daily farm activities, planting timing, crop selection, and land preparation. Notably, approximately 35% of the respondents were identified as food insecure. The application of the Propensity Score Matching model revealed that access to climate services had a statistically significant positive impact on farmers' decision-making processes and household food security. These results underscore the potential of climate services to enhance farmers' decision-making capabilities and, subsequently, improve household food security. Considering these findings, it is recommended that efforts to expand access to climate services among smallholder farmers in South Africa should be intensified. This can be achieved by developing and disseminating more accessible and tailored climate information, including seasonal forecasts. Additionally, initiatives should ensure that climate services are integrated into agricultural extension services and support systems to equip farmers with the knowledge and tools they need to make informed decisions.

    Keywords: access, Climate services, impact, Propensity score matching, Smallholder farmers

    Received: 03 Jul 2024; Accepted: 30 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Nocezo, Manyike, Zhou and Ngarava. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Yanga-Inkosi Nocezo, University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.