The contribution of climate-smart agriculture to small-scale urban crop farmers’ food and income security in eThekwini Municipality, South Africa.

Abstract

Climate change significantly impacts small-scale farmers, particularly in urban settings where it threatens food, nutrition, and income security. The study assessed the contribution of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) to small-scale urban crop (SSUC) farmers' food and income security in the eThekwini (ETH) Municipality of South Africa. This research explored how CSA practices enhance agricultural productivity, resilience, and food security in urban areas, contributing to climate adaptation and mitigation. The study collected data through semi-structured questionnaires from 412 SSUC farmers purposively chosen using a multi-stage sampling technique. A quantitative approach incorporating descriptive statistics, composite score index (CSI), ordered probit model (OPM), multivariate probit (MVP), binary logistic regression (BLRM), and conditional mixed process (CMP) models were employed to analyse the determinants of CSA practices adoption on food and income security outcomes. Most SSUC farmers were aware of CSA practices and were medium users, indicating moderate uptake of CSA. The most preferred CSA practices included crop diversification, crop rotation, mulching, drought-tolerant crops, and organic manure, suggesting their benefits or the less complexity of implementing the CSA practices. Key socioeconomic factors such as age, gender, education, group membership, and farming experience significantly influenced the adoption and intensity of CSA practices' level of use. The findings suggest that tailored socioeconomic programmes targeting specific farmer groups can enhance CSA practice adoption and urban agriculture (UA) resilience against climate impacts. The analysis further reveals that female SSUC farmers comprised a significant proportion of the sample and were generally more risk-averse due to financial limitations. Marital status, employment status, and involvement in a farming group also influenced perceptions of the adoption of CSA practices. Despite the positive perceptions of CSA practices by SSUC farmers, including the potential to improve food and income security, barriers such as inadequate training, financial constraints, and limited market access impede broader adoption of CSA practices. The findings underscore the importance of policy interventions addressing unique UA constraints to promote CSA adoption. The results show complementarity between certain CSA practices, such as crop diversification, mulching, and use of organic manure. Socioeconomic and biophysical factors, including gender, age of SSUC farmers, employment status, and access to credit and extension services, influenced CSA practice adoption significantly. The findings highlight the need for multi-dimensional interventions encouraging complementary CSA practices to enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability in UA contexts. The results reveal that CSA adopters exhibit significantly higher Household Food Consumption Scores (HFCS) and Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS) than non-adopters, indicating that CSA practices positively contribute to food and nutrition security. Education, household size, off-farm income, and credit access significantly influenced dietary diversity and consumption patterns. These findings support the postulation that adopting CSA practices can substantially enhance the food security of SSUC farmers in ETH Municipality. The conditional mixed process (CMP) model predicts that CSA adoption, education, household size, farming experience, and agricultural group membership positively affect farm wealth and income. However, challenges such as limited access to credit, inadequate agricultural training, and the high cost of CSA practices remain significant barriers to maximising the potential economic benefits of CSA practices. The study recommends enhancing access to agricultural training, credit, and extension services, particularly for female SSUC farmers, to improve the income-generating potential of CSA practices in UA. Overall, this thesis provides critical insights into the factors influencing the adoption of CSA practices and their role in enhancing food and income security for SSUC farmers in ETH Municipality. The findings emphasise the need for targeted, context-specific interventions to overcome the barriers to adopting CSA practices and promote sustainable UA practices. By fostering collaboration between SSUC farmers, researchers, and extension services, this research contributes to developing effective CSA practices that address the unique challenges urban farmers face in ETH Municipality.