WaterResearchCommission
Submitted to:
Executive Manager: Water Utilisation in Agriculture
Water Research Commission
Pretoria
Project team:
Mahlathini Development Foundaction(MDF)
Erna Kruger
Temakholo Mathebula
Betty Maimela
Nqe Dlamini
Institute of Natural Resources (INR)
Brigid Letty
Environmental and Rural Solutions (ERS)
Nickie McCleod, Sissie Mathela
Association for Water and Rural Development (AWARD)
Derick du Toit
Project Number: C2022/2023-00746
Project Title: Dissemination and scaling of a decision support framework for CCA for smallholder
farmers in South Africa
Deliverable No.8:Refined CbCCA decision support framework with updated databases and CRA
practices
Date: 13 December 2024
Deliverable
8
Table of Contents
1.Introduction....................................................................................................................................3
2.Process planning and progress to date..........................................................................................5
Smallholder farmers in climate resilient agriculture learning groups............................................6
Communication and innovation...................................................................................................10
Multistakeholder platforms.........................................................................................................11
3.Addition of further prioritized practices......................................................................................13
1Introduction............................................................................................................................13
2Social-ecological mapping and adaptive planning...................................................................14
a.Building the picture into one whole: the CbCCA framework..............................................16
3Livestock integration...............................................................................................................23
b.Multipurpose poultry breeds..............................................................................................23
c.Fodder production..............................................................................................................29
d.Protein blocks.....................................................................................................................35
4Natural resource management...............................................................................................36
e.Erosion control measures...................................................................................................36
f.Alien clearing.......................................................................................................................42
g.Wetland rehabilitation........................................................................................................42
5Water access and management..............................................................................................47
h.Self-supply options (springs, streams, boreholes)..............................................................47
i.Low-tech spring protection options....................................................................................49
j.Governance.........................................................................................................................55
k.Field cropping......................................................................................................................57
4.Dss Refinement............................................................................................................................60
1.Dissemination of the Dss.........................................................................................................60
a.Adaptation Network...........................................................................................................61
b.Amanzi for food..................................................................................................................62
2.Inclusion of climate data.........................................................................................................63
5.Capacity Building..........................................................................................................................64
5.1Postgraduate students........................................................................................................64
5.2Community level and organisational training and capacity building..................................65
6.Work plan: January-February 2025..............................................................................................66
7.Attachment: report on sw cape winter rainfall season 2024 (April- august): Overberg and
Swartland.............................................................................................................................................67
1.INTRODUCTION
This section provides a brief summaryof the project vision, outcomes and operational details.
OUTCOME
Vertical and horizontal integration of this community- based climate change adaptation (CbCCA)
model and process leads to improved water and environmental resources management,
improved rural livelihoods and improved climate resilience for smallholder farmers in communal
tenure areas of South Africa.
EXPECTEDIMPACTS
1.Scaling out and scaling up of the CRA frameworks and implementation strategies lead to
greater resilience and food security for smallholder farmers in their locality.
2.Incorporation of the smallholder decision support framework and CRA implementation into
a range of programmatic and institutional processes
3.Improved awareness and implementation of appropriate agricultural and water
management practices and CbCCA in a range of bioclimatic and institutional settings
4.Contribution of a robust CC resilience impact measurement tool for local, regional and
national monitoring processes.
5.Concrete examples and models for ownership and management of local group-based water
access and infrastructure.
AIMS
No
Aim
1.
Create and strengthen integrated institutional frameworks and mechanisms for
scaling up proven multi-benefit approaches that promote collective action and
coherent policies.
2.
Scaling up integrated approaches and practices in CbCCA.
3.
Monitoring and assessment of environmental benefits and agro-ecosystem
resilience.
4.
Improvement of water resource management and governance, including
community ownership and bottom-up approaches.
5.Chronology of activities
1.Desktop review of CbCCA policy and implementation presently undertaken in South
Africa
2.Set up CoPs:
a.Village based learning groups: A minimum of 1-3 LGs per province will be brought
on board.
b.Innovation platforms: 3 LG clusters, onefor each province consisting of a
minimum of 9- 36 LGs will be identified to engage coherently in thisresearch and
dissemination process.
c.Multistakeholder platforms: Engage existing multistakeholder platforms such as
the uMzimvubu catchment partnership, SANBI- Living Catchments Programme,
the Adaptation Network, etc.
3.Develop roles and implementation parameters for each CoP
a.Village based learning groups: CCA learning and review cycles, farmer level
experimentation, CRA practices refinement, local food systems development,
water and resource conservation access and management and participation and
sharing in and across villages.
b.Innovation Platforms (IP): Clusters of LGs learn and share together with local and
regional stakeholders for knowledge mediation and co-creation and engagement
of Government Departments and officials (1-2 sessions annually for each IP)
c.Multistakeholder platforms: Developmentof CbCCA frameworks,
implementation processes (including for example linkages to IDPS and disaster
risk reduction planning and implementation at DM and LM level), reporting
frameworks for the NDC to the CCA strategy, consideration of models for
measurement of resilience and impact (1- 2 sessions annually for each multi
stakeholder platform)
4.Cyclical implementation for all three CoP levels (information provision and sharing,
analysis, action, and review) within the following thematic focus areas: Climate resilient
agriculture practices, smallholder microfinance options, local food systems and
marketing and community ownedwater and resources access and conservation
management plans and processes. Each ofthese thematic areas is to be led by one of the
senior researchers and a small sub-team.
5.Monitoring and evaluation: Consisting of the following broad actions:
a.Focus on 3-4 main quantitative indicators e.g. water productivity, production
yields, soil organic carbon and soil health.
b.Indicator development for resilience and impact and
c.Exploration of further useful models to develop an overarching framework.
6.Production of synthesis reports, handbooks and process manuals emanating from steps
1-4 withthe primary aim of dissemination of information.
7.And refinement of the CbCCA decision support platform, incorporating updated data sets
and further information form this research and dissemination process.
DELIVERABLES
N
o.
Deliverable Title
Description
Target Date
Amount
1
Desk top review for CbCCA in
South Africa
Desk top review of South African policy,
implementation frameworks and
stakeholder platforms for CCA.
01/Aug/2022
R100 000,00
2
Report: Monitoring
framework, ratified by
multiple stakeholders
Exploration of appropriate monitoring
tools to suite the contextual needs for
evidence-based planning and
implementation.
02/Dec/2022
R100 000,00
3
Handbook on scenarios and
options for successful
smallholder financial services
within the South Africa
Summarize VSLA interventions in SA, Govt
and Non-Govt and design best bet
implementation process for smallholder
microfinance options.
28/Feb/2022
R100000,00
4
Development ofCoPs and
multi stakeholder platforms
Design development parameters, roles
and implementation frameworks for CoPs
at all levels, CRA learning groups,
Innovation and multi stakeholder
platforms; within the CbCCA framework.
04/Aug/2023
R133000,00
5
Report: Local food systems
and marketing strategies
contextualized - Guidelines
for implementation
Guidelines and case studies for building
resilience in local food systems and local
marketingstrategies towards sustainable
local food systems (local value chain)
08/Dec/2023
R133000,00
6
Case studies: encouraging
community ownership of
water and natural resources
access and management
Case studies (x3) towardsproviding an
evidence base for encouraging community
ownership of natural resource
management through bottom-up
approaches and institutional recognition
of these processes.
28/Feb/2024
R134000,00
7
Case studies: CbCCA
implementation case studies
in 3 different agroecological
zones in SA
CbCCA implementation case studies in 3
different agroecological zones within
South Africa
12/Aug/2024
R133000,00
8
Refined CbCCAdecision
support framework with
updated databases and CRA
practices
Refined CbCCA DSS database and
methodology with inclusion offurther
viable and appropriate CRA practices
13/Dec/2024
R133000,00
9
Manual for implementation
of successful
multistakeholder platforms
in CbCCA
Methodology and process manual for
successful multi stakeholder platform
development in CbCCA
28/Feb/2025
R134000,00
1
0
Final Report
Final report: Summary of all findings,
guidelines and case studies,learning and
recommendations
18/Aug/2025
(Feb 2026)
R400000,00
Deliverable 8 focusses on reviewing and updating the decision support framework designed between
2017-2021. The framework and methodology have been expanded to include community-basedwater
and resources management into the overall design alongside the climate resilient agriculture activities
to provide for a more coherent landscape/catchment approach and a broader range of activities and
synergies for implementation of community-basedclimate change adaptation (CbCCA).
The process still relies on a two-pronged decision support process; one facilitated at community and
village level and one as anonline, individual app-based process. For both, a range of new practices
have been included and are described in this report.
2.PROCESS PLANNING AND PROGRESS TO DATE
The intention is threefold, as describe below and shown in the diagram:
•Expand introduction and implementation of the CbCCA DSS framework within the areas of
operation of MDFwith a number of different communities. Work with existing communities
as the basis of the case studies in specific thematic areas.(Note: This aspect of implementation
will be finalized by December 2024)
•Introduce and implement the CbCCA DSS framework with a range of other role-players
expanding into new areas, including different agroecological zones(Note: This aspect of
implementation will be finalized by December 2024)and
•Work at multistakeholder level tointroduce the methodology as an option for adaptation
planning and action, both within civil society and also including Government stakeholders.
This is the first step towards institutionalization of the processand willinvolve mainly working
within existing multistakeholder platforms and networks as the starting point.
•Further exploration of the categories of stakeholders and the roles and relationships between
stakeholders is important for the present research brief.
Figure 1: Conceptualization of stakeholder platforms at multiple levels to support CbCCA
Smallholder farmers in climate resilient agriculturelearning groups
This process has been initiatedby continuing and strengthening specificCRA learning groups,which
have been supported by MDF in the past and whohave done well in implementation and building of
social agency. These groups will provide the focus for further exploration of food systems, water
stewardship and governance and engagement with local and district municipalities.
CRA learning group summary:
Province
Area
Villages
No of participants
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Description
Date
Activity
Establishing learning groups at
village level
2022/11/25, 12/09
2022/11/15, 11/29,
2023/02/07
2023/02/09
2023/01/18
2023/03/27
2023/06/15, 07/07
Limpopo: Sophaya
SKZN: Mahhehle -CCA workshop x 2 days,
Bergville: Eqeleni
EC: Ned, Nkau
Limpopo: Madeira
KZN Midlands: Ndlaveleni, Montobello, Noodsberg, Inkuleleko primary
school
Training and mentoring for
climate resilient agriculture
2022/12/02
2022/10/26
2022/10/08-14
2022/11/23,24,29
2022/02/10
2022/02/27, 03/28
2022/03/08, 03/17,
03/28
2022/03/15
2023/03/07,08
2023/03/29,30
2023/03/24,27,30
2023/04/, 2023/05,
2023/06
2023/04/21,25, 05/26,
06/08
2023/04/19,20
2023/06/22
2023/08/07,08,10
2023/09/19
2023/10/16-19
2023/11/13-17
2023/12/04
2023/12/14
2024/02/23
2024/03/22
2024/05/28
Midlands: Ozwathinicontouring workshop SKZN: Mahhehle –tower
gardens
EC-Matatiele: Drip irrigation workshops in 5 villages
SKZN: CA demonstration workshops in 3 villages
SKZN: Plainhill Drip irrigation training
Limpopo: Sofaya trench beds
SKZN: Mahhehletower gardens, poultry production, trench beds
SKZN: Mariathal gardens and experimentation
Bgvl: Madakaneni, Mahlathini– gardening training
EC: Ned, Nchodu poultry production
EC: Nec, Nchodu, Mzongwana- Pest and disease control
Limpopo and KZN: trench bed training with assembling of tunnels for 45
households across 8 villages, including distribution of seedlings, mixed
cropping and mulching learning inputs and drip irrigation
Limpopo: Willows, Sedawa, Mametja Sophaya. Bergville-Matwetha,
Emadakaneni – Natural Pest and Disease control
Bergville, SKZN: Poultry production: eMadakaeneni, Mjwetha, Mariathal,
Mahhehle, Centocow
EC: Ned, Nkau, Rashule, Nchodu- Soil and water conservation
Matatiele: Multipurpose chicken production and cage construction
(Ned(13), Rashule(22), Nchodu(23)
Matatiele: Nchodu -Value Adding training (32)
Limpopo: Boschvelder feeding and management training x 5 villages (50
participants)
Limpopo (30): CA demonstrations and farmer level experimentation:
intercropping cover crops
-Midlands: Gobizembe Youth group- seedling production training
-Limpopo: Sofaya(10) , Madeira and Willows (16) CA training and demos
-Limpopo: advanced nutrition workshop x 5 villages
-SKZN: gardening refresher workshops (Centocow, Mahhehle, Mariathal,
Ngongonini)
-Matatiele (EC) nutrition workshops x 4 villages
04/07/2024
05/07/2024
08/07/2024
10/07/2024
16/08/2024
11/09/2024
25/09/2024
Poultry training-Ndlaveleni
VSLA meeting+ delivery of boschvelders-Ozwathini
Calf rearing meeting (farmer centre finalization)-Ozwathini
Progress meeting-Gobizembe
Seedling production Youth group, Gobizembe
Pest and disease training Mayizekanye
Seedling production training Ozwathini
Cyclical implementation
through mentoring for capacity
development for LG at local
level
2022/08/16,17,18,19,30
2022/10/16
2022/11/21-24
2023/01/24-30
ONGOING
2023/10/03-06
2023/11/05-12/15
CCA review and planning workshops
-Bergville: CA review and planning (5)
-Midlands: CA review and planning (3)
-Limpopo: CCA review and planning (4)
CCA prioritization of practices
-Matatiele: 5 villages (Ned, Nchodu, Rahsule, Nkau, Mzongwana
-All areas: garden monitoring, poultry support, tunnel and drip kit
installations, VSLAs monthly meetings, CA production and monitoring
KZN-Bergville Boschvelder chicken delivery and maintenance mentoring
for 45 participants
2023/11/30-2024/02/28
2024/ 03/ 30
2024/07/08
KZN: Bergville_CA farmer experimentation planting for 124 participants,
incl cover crops awa collaboration with Forge Agri to Fodder Beet trials
and Zylem SA for new Maize variety trials
Midlands:Seedling nursery project initiation for youth group in
Gobizembe (11 members)
-KZN,EC and Limpopo – 2ndround micro tunnel introduction and
deliveries (x30 tunnels)
-KZN ,EC and Limpopo- 2ndround of multipurpose chicken delivery,
training and mentoring, including introduction of incubators for local
breeding
11/07/2024
16/07/2024
17/07/2024
31/07/2024
23/08/2024
26/08/2024
14/10/2024
-VSLA meeting- Ozwathini
PIA meeting-Ozwathini
Purchasing and decanting of farmer centre stock-Ozwathini
Monitoring of tower gardens and chickens in Ndlaveleni
Nursery monitoring-Gobizembe
Purchasing and decanting of farmer centre stock
Purchasing of farmer centre stock and decanting
Ongoing - Monthly
Jan-December 2023
July-Sept 2023
Ongoing- Monthly
April-June 2024
May-July 2024
Market days: monthly farmers markets
-Midlands: Bamshela (Ozwathini)
-SKZN: Creighton (Centocow)
-Ubuhlebezwe LED Ixopo flea market
- Bergville: Bergville town
Market exploration workshops
-Midlands: Mayizekanye, Gobizembe
-EC_Ned-Nchodu market day in Matatiele
-SKZN: Mariathal
PGS follow-up w/s Limpopo
SKZN: Mahhehle
VSLA meetings and share outs
-Bergville (18)
-SKZN: Ngongonini (2), Centocow (4)
-Midlands: Ozwathini (6)
Limpopo: (7)
-Youth Dialogues – Limpopo (Sedawa, Turkey, Willows, Madeira)
-Income diversification individual interviews - all areas (x12)
Income diversification and
economic empowerment of
local farmers (LG at local level)
Ongoing - Monthly
July-October 2024
02/08/2024
03/09/2024
Ongoing- Monthly
July-Oct 2024
12/08/2024 and
07/10/2024
Market days: monthly farmers markets
-Midlands: Bamshela (Ozwathini)
-Ozwathini Market Day
-Ozwathini Matket day
VSLA meetings and share outs
-Savings meetings Ozwathini (7)
-Share out meetings Ozwathini (1)
Farmer centre meetings – Ozwathini Midlands
Implementation and capacity
development for innovation (3)
and multi-stakeholder platforms
(3)
2022/11/18
2022/11/10
2022/12/01
2023/02/23
2023/02/28
2023/03/08,09
2023/03/89,29,
May-July 2023
2023/03/30, 06/02
2023/04/26
2023/05/09
2023/07/10-15
2023/08/18
-SKZN: Centocow P&D control cross visit and learning workshop
-uThukela water source forum: Visioning and action planning – Bergville
-Adaptation Network AGM
-Regenerative Agric farmers’ day in Bergville incl Asset research,
uThukela Water Source Forum, uThukela Development Agency
-Adaptation Network: CCA financing dialogue
-SANBI_gender mainstreaming dialogue
-WRC-ESS: Bglv Ezibomvini, Stulwane –resource management mapping
and planning
Bergillve:Stulwnae weekly community resource management workdays
-Okahlamba LED forum
-Farmers X visit between Bulwer (supported by the INR0 and Bergville
around CRA, fodder and restoration
-PGS-SA: market training input: Online training Session 5
-Giyani Local Scale Climate resilience Project: Introduction of CCA model
and local water governance options.
-World Vision: CCA workshops for women cooperatives and LED project
(60 participants)
2023/08/29
2023/08/30
2023/09/04
2023/09/08
2023/09/13
2023/09/22-24
2023/08/23, and 09/27
2023/07-12
2024/03/12,20
2024/07/08-12
2024/08/07, 11/07
2024/08/08
2024/10/20-23
2024/10/29-11/04
-Giyani Climate resilience project: Input into WRC reference group
meeting
-KZN DARD_ Okahlamba Agricultural Show: display and talk
ACDI: Dialogue on community adaptation and resilience (Stellenbosch)
Food systems article for newsletter
WWF-Business Network meeting (SAPPI Durban)- presentation
Joint Bergville learning group local marketing review session
Gcumisa_multistakeholder innovation meeting – with the INR, ~60
participants (value adding, stokvels and local marketing
Food systems dialogue: online event
Uthukela water source forum: Core team meeting and Multistakeholder
field visit around community resource conservation in Stulwane (Bgvl)
-LIMA -Social Employment Fund: Training for work teams and employed
youth in nutrition, value adding, climate change adaptation and
agroecological gardening practices including soil and water conservation
in 7 areas: Zululand, SKZN, Lichtenburg, Sekororo,Musina and Blouberg
(140 participants trained).
Northern Drakensberg collaborative (NDC) multistakeholder meeting in
Bergville (55 participants)
Adaptation network (AN) –colloquium CT- vulnerability assessments
and MERL for CCA
AN_SANBI EbA farm – Global Climate Fund proposal discussion (24
participants)
NDC -Farmers x visit from Hlatikhuluto Bergville-Endangered wildlife
Trust, WWF, SEAON, INR(45 participants)
Mopani District water dialogue- Tzaneen. In association with AWARD,
Panel member and participant.
SABNI_Catchment Indaba-KleinMond – Western Cape
Indicator development for
evidence-based indicators, M&E
and handbook development
2023/01/30- 02/03
2023/02/02
2023/01/18
2023/01/18
2023/02/20
March-May 2023
June 2023
2023/10/16-20, 11/13-
16
2024/02/26
May-July 2024
31/05/2024, 07, 12, 18
/07/2024
31/07/2024
20/10/2024
2024/11/15
Limpopo: Focus Group discussions for VSLA and microfinance for the
rural poor x 3 (Turkey, Worcester, Santeng)
Garden monitoring:
-SKZN: Plainhill
-EC: 5 villages
CA monitoring
-EC:5 villages
-KZN: Bergville -30, Midlands 15, SKZN 15
-All areas: Poultry production list
-All areas: Livelihoods survey for farmgate sales and asset accumulation
-M&E resilience indicator developmentteam meeting and process with
Karen Kotschy
-Design of framework
-Development of individual interviews and Participatory impact
assessment outlines for testing. Interviewing of 120 participants across
KZN,EC and Limpopo and running of 10 PIA workshops
- Initiate development of analysis platform and dashboards for Climate
resilience impact assessments
- Garden Monitoring Ndlaveleni
-Resilience snapshot assessments with new indicator sets across three
provinces (240 interviews)
-Finalize climate resilience dashboard development
Implementation of sustainable
water management
2023/01/03-02/03
2023/03/07
2023/03/25, 06/15
2023/04/25, 06/01,02,
06/14.
2023/07/26-28,
09/14,10/09-14, 11/06-
10, 12/05-15,
2024/01/21-02/02
Ongoing
2024/11/30
KZN: Bergville: Stulwane– Conflict man and upgrading spring protection.
EC: Nkau: Water walk and meetings for spring protection and
reticulation.
KZN: Bgvl Stulwane_ Engineer visits (Alain Marechal) for scenario
development and follow up planning meetings with community. Set up
committee, work parties and start on quotes and budget outline
KZN: Bgvl Vimbukhalo: Governance of communal borehole water supply
KZN: Bgvl Stulwane_ Engineer visits (Alain Marechal) for scenario
development and follow up planning meetings with community. Set up
committee, work parties and start on quotes and budget outline. Work
on scheme initiated. Final implementation of scheme.
Gobizembe water access discussions
-NED-Matatiele water access scenario development with Alain
Marechal and the community
Organisational& capacity
development
2022/11/17
2022/12/05
2023/02/13
-MDF AGM andorganisational capacity development workshop
-Mentoringand planning with new finance officer to implement SODI
financial reporting system
- Internal short learning event for rainfall and runoff results, as well as
soil fertility and Organic carbon
2023/02/09, 02/16
2023/03/06
2023/03/13
2023/04/17
2023/05/26
2023/06/12
2023/07/04
2023/10/09
2023/10/16
2023/10/17
2024/02/26 – ONGOING
2024/10/24
- Mentoring in CCA workshop implementation. Temakholo from
Midlands assisted Bergville team
-Team session on gender mainstreaming
- UKZN- Ecological mapping and use of resource planning – Bgvl team
-VSLAs review and discussion re group basedrules, BLF updates
- Nutrient analysis for livestock fodder options: facilitated by Brigid Letty
from the INR
-Small business development support planning and Livelihoods survey
-MDF AGM and organisational capacity development workshop
Conservation agriculture participatory research outcomes and
presentation for CA forum with interns and staff
-Training plan development with interns
-M&E frameworks discussion with Karen Kotschy and team members
-Financial team: Introduction to online Sage platform
- First Aid training for 6 staff members
$
$
$
Communication and innovation
This aspect relates to platforms for sharing and learning with clusters of learning groups (LGs). During
the period between August and December 2024, two such platform events were undertaken
Mycotoxin and bio-stimulants workshop – Bergville
A workshop bringing participants from 5 village-based learning groups in the Bergville (KZN) region,
was held on the 17thOctober 2024. 53 participants (Ezibomvini, Eqeleni, Stulwane, Vimbukhalo and
eMadakaneni) came together for a learning session on the presence and impact of mycotoxins in
their maize harvests. Research undertaken in collaboration with the ARC-VOPI was used as a basis
for the presentation and discussion. In addition, input was provided on what biio0stimulants are in
the context of field cropping and an experimentation protocol for inclusion of the Zylem Regen-Z
products was outline. MDF is collaborating with this private agricultural service provider to introduce
these products into the CA system in Bergville and start to move the productionsystem to more
organic options.
Figure 2: Smallholder farmer participants in the local innovation platform workshop in Bergville, KZN. October 2024
Livestock management and conservation agreements: Sekororo, Limpopo
On the 18thSeptember 2024, 24 livestock owners from 3 neighbouring villages in Sekoror0 (Willows,
Mulalani and Turkey) came together to start the discussion around developing a conservation
agreement for the shared communal grazing area. Such agreements would serve to improve the
grazing management and also provide further incentive for thiswork through provision of local
livestock auctions. This activity is being
undertaken in collaboration with
ConservationSouth Africa and Meat
Naturally. These farmers are also
working together across their villages
to buy in fodder fortheirlivestock,
which were under severe drought and
heat pressure.
This work is an example of clusters of
village-based learning groups and
committees working together on
catchment level actions
Figure 3: The Willows-Mulalani-Turkey livestock
farmers’ meeting to discuss conservation
agreements, Sekororo September 2024.
Multistakeholder platforms
To date the research team has participated in a range multistakeholder platforms, networks and
communities of practices (CoPs) towards developing a framework for awareness raising,
dissemination and incorporation of the CbCCA-DSS methodology into local andregional planning
processesand developing methodological coherence for a number of the themes to be explored in
this brief.
The table below outlines actions and meetings to date.
Table 2: Planning and multi stakeholder interactions for the CCA-DSSII research process: December 2024
Organisation
Activity - Description
Dates
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3.ADDITION OFFURTHER PRIORITIZED PRACTICES
1 INTRODUCTION
For the initial research brief (2017-2021), we were considering climate change adaptation from an
agricultural lens moving from a household level out into the landscape. We also expanded the
concept of climate smart agriculture (CSA) to climate resilient agriculture (CRA).
In this round, conceptualisation has now included the broader landscape moving to the concept of
Community based Climate Change Adaptation (CbCCA) which includes community level water and
resources management and livestock integration. This includes both achange in the participatory
methodology for intervening with the CRA village-level learning groups as well as the inclusion of a
range of new CRA practices. It needs to be noted that the practices presented here are by no means
exhaustive, but are the ones tried and tested with the village-level learning groups supported by
MDF.
Practices under eachare summarized in the table below. Those marked in green are further
described in the narratives following.
Livestock integration
Water access and
management
Natural resource
management
Field cropping
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2 SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MAPPING AND ADAPTIVE PLANNING
This aspect has been explored through a separate WRC brief (WRC 20192020-00150) entitled:
“Building social agency and local capacity for sustainable and equitable community resource
management: A framework for co-learning, adaptive planning, and participatory mapping of land
uses and ecosystem services”,with Dr Rebecka Henriksson from CWRR-UKZN as the lead researcher
and EFTEON and MDF as research partners.
Mahlathini Development Foundation has been active in the Northern Drakensberg communities
supporting smallholder farmers with implementation of conservation agriculture (CA) as well as
climate resilient agriculture practices, through a number of project initiatives. The importance of
also including broader natural resource and water management concerns into these processes has
already been noted and initial steps have been taken with the learning groups involved to focus on
these issues, primarily fodder flow and grazing management for livestock and access to and
management of water resources for micro-scale irrigation. These processes have provided a strong
entry point into these communities for the exploration and adaptive planning related to integrated
water resource management (IWRM) and ecosystem services that this project undertakes.
A transdisciplinary mixed-method approach was employed. The integrative science-action approach
involved methods such as historical and current monitoring of climatic and hydrological
observations, hydrological modelling, landscape mapping, veld assessment, citizen science water
quality tests, participatory mapping workshops, village walks, co-learning workshops, focus group
discussions, in-depth interviews, participant observations and facilitated management plan
development(adaptive planning). These methods were occurring in parallel with various
community-led activities for spring protection, water reticulation, grazing management, erosion
regulation and restoration, river clean-up, alien clearingand climate resilient agriculture. All
processes were focused through the village level learning groups in two villages in the Emmaus
region of the Northen Drakensberg (Ezibomvini and Costone).
Figure 4: Methodological framework for
integration of ecosystems, water resources and
people in the social-ecological mapping and
planning processes.
The research conducted in this project
includes assessment of all the
components: water resources and
hydrological processes, ecosystem
functions and ecological processes, and
people’s and societies’ resource use,
management and dependence, as well as
cross-domain dynamics.Activities in this
process included:
-Complication of historical and present weather patterns and data and interactive,
participatory workshops at community level to jointly analyse this data, discuss climate
change impacts and suggest adaptive strategies for action at village and catchment level
-Biodiversity and land use assessments, including a veld assessment for each of the villages,
linked to
-Village walks with local key informants to discuss key features and issue in the landscape.
-Community level workshops (women, men, youth and governance structures) to discuss
landscape and land-use activities, using both the community level and scientific information
related to biodiversity, veld condition, erosion, alien vegetation and water sources and
inclusive of considerations of access and governance.
From these processes, atransdisciplinary social-ecological GIS support tool was developed for
decision making and management of water and natural resources, and locally defined land uses
were linked with ecosystem services and livelihoods. The communities have a rich and detailed
understanding of their landscape and describe a diverse utilization of, and appreciation for, the
various land uses and their benefits. A wide variety of ecosystem services are associated with
specific land uses and places in the landscape, although many of the ecosystem services were
perceived as having declined by the participants.
A series of map layers were produced for each of the communities, with spatial information about
the community landscapes, co-generated between the project team and the communities.
Figure 5: An example of the mapping
tool indicating a number of layers
including the boundary, water
sources, rivers and springs, wetlands,
erosion and alien vegetation
The map reading literacy and
ability to interpret spatial
information was significantly
improved during the course of
the project, which enables the
communities to use the
printed maps for continued
decisions around community
resources and management
strategies.
A framework for supporting
innovation and decision
making for sustainable
resource use management and
improved livelihood
opportunities has been
designed and tested. Co-
learning between the project
team and community
participants about the climate,
the environment, and the
communities’ needs, priorities
and decision-making structures enabled the development of participatory community resources
management plans that are community-led and expert guided. The social learning approach
provided for more informeddecision-making about appropriate adaptive measures to ameliorate
negative impacts and synergise for positive re-enforcements in the social-ecological system. The
process particularly empowered the community to plan, innovate and take action towards
management of their resources and to build social agency.
a.Building the picture into one whole: the CbCCA framework
Within the context of governance, decision-making, power and access, one of the developmental
goals isto provide for a process of building social agency in the villages. This was facilitated by
initially setting up voluntary learning groups in Climate Resilient Agriculture (CRA). The learnings
groups were set up to facilitate exploration of adaptive strategies and improved agricultural
practices, as this was a priority for community members.
Over time, these CRA learning groups, being inclusive, open, participatory and developmental, have
become the hubs from which further community organisation and relationships with external
stakeholders have developed. They have provided community members with a process for
engagement, for developing systems of representation and building motivation for involvement in
the larger water and resource management issues, which have been mired in intractable conflict in
the past.
Figure 6: The village-level learning groups and relationship-building with local and external stakeholders.
From this a framework innovation and decisions for sustainable resource use management and
improved livelihood opportunitieswas developed. The methodological process of ensuring
knowledge co-creation and innovation development in and beyond these CRA learning groups
entails three broad facilitated interventions: Analysing the present situation, identifying
intervention options and processes and implementing these and building improved systems and
social agency.This is also a cyclical process where learning and implementation can be strengthened
and deepened over time.
Below are diagrams outlining the activities in each of these steps:
Analysing the present situation: Collect and analyse information and then allow for joint
analysis and co-learning that highlights the issues and needs of different community
members.
The flow-diagram below outlines the steps in this process through focus group discussions,
individual interviews, mapping and village walks.
Identifying intervention options and processes:Co-learning and co-creation for action. The flow
diagram below outlines the steps in this part of the process, which include thematic workshops,
climate change impact and adaptive strategies workshops, prioritization of a suite of climate resilient
practices for implementation and adaptive resource management planning workshops.
This aspect includes the individual farmer and learning group implementation of a suite of CRA
practices as well as farmer level experimentation.
PRESENT SITUATION
Collect and analyse information
Focus group discussions
Land use and
management
Social organisation
Mapping: social-ecological
patches
Individual interviews
Expert ecological mapping
(GIS)
EIAandveld assessment
Water resources and
sources
Village walks for detailed
resource discussions and
mapping (key informants)
Joint analysis
Present situation in land
use and management,
including needs and issues
Local structures and
decision making:
Community and individual
Building improved systems and social agency:focusing on improved decision making and social
organisation. As shown in the flow diagram below, this aspect includes the adaptive planning
workshop and community level implementation for resource management activities. It also includes
stakeholder engagement as well as social organisation as well as inclusion of youth. The review and
replanning sessions for the CRA implementation also fall under this aspect given that the deepening
and expansion of the CRA activities relies heavily on increased social agency, such as the increased
ability to work cooperatively, share information and learning and make joint decisions.
IDENTIFY OPTIONS AND
IMPLEMENT
Co-learning and co-creation
Thematic workshops:
Climate change, resources
issues
Choose thematic focus
areas to work on: e.g.
water access, resource
conservation, wetland
rehabilitation etc
Further engagement with
stakeholders for expanded
implementation options
around water and resource
management
Climate change workshops:
impact, adaptive strategies,
prioritization of measures
practices
Experimentation with new
innovations and practices
Action
Completed social-
ecological maps with
impact of human
interventions
Set up village-based
learning groups with list of
prioritized practices
CRA learning and
implementation
BUILD IMPROVED SYSTEMS AND
BUILD AGENCY
Improved decision making
Stakeholder engagement–
innovation platforms and
multistakeholder platforms
LGs, committees and community
structures engage in resource
management projects with a range
of stakeholders
Adaptive planning workshops using
layered socio ecological maps
Committees discuss, planand
implement prioritized actions
Iterative experimentation with CRA
practices to tackle more complex
issues
Improved land use and
management
Social organisation
Develop further organisations: e.g.,
water committees, marketing
groups, VSLAs etc
Structures developed for improved
governance with broader and
equitable community involvement
linked to local authorities
Link youth groups in resource
management and enterprise
development
Putting this all together into one picture, then provides for the overall improvement in social agency
and local organisational development as an emergent property of the process as shown in the
diagram below, with improved decision making, improved local organisational management and
improved collaboration with stakeholders being the three main outcomes.
It is important to note that this gradual development of capacity and trust formsthe backbone of
greatly improved collaborative efforts in the community - between community members and also
with local authority representatives, enabling them to develop systems and rules for water and
resource management at community level, to which the Traditional Authorities have been party to.
The existing CRA learning groupsalso enable a valuable entry point for further ideas and projects
into the community.The ongoing activities in the communities are efficaciously and positively
expanded or built on.
In the Bergville area with the two villages (Ezibomvini and Costone) where this methodology was
developed the process has enabled community members to engage in a number of different
activities that have brought both social and environmental improvement in their communities.
Members have engaged in:
- Joint farming activities:providing land preparation and planting support to each other,
engaging in bulk buying of inputs together, learning and implementation for a range of CRA practices
and integration of livestock through production of fodder and winter supplementation. Rulesaround
livestock movement and management have been an emergent characteristic of this, as has
increased involvement in farming by community members as well as intensification of agricultural
activities for greater productivity. Other outcomes have been much reduced runoff and erosion in
and around fields.
- Joint water access activities:Community members have formed localised water structures
and have provided labour and financial support towards provision of small multipurpose use water
schemes from protected springs and boreholes reticulated to either communal standpipes or
household connections. Emergent characteristics of this participatory process of water access design
have been increased awareness of water resources, how they are used and water quality issues.
Community members have undertaken operational and maintenance control of their small schemes
and have developed rules for daily management. They have become more aware of the importance
of both wetlands and groundwater in their systems and the basic requirements for protection of
these water sources.
PRESENT SITUATION
IDENTIFY OPTIONS AND
IMPLEMENT
BUILD IMPROVED SYSTEMS AND
BUILD AGENCY
Innovation •Improved participatory decision
making and implementation
Governance
•New community-based structures
•Improved rules and logistics within
existing and new community-based
structures
Linkages •Coherent collaboration with
stakeholdersand role players
- Joint economic activities:These have included village levels savings and loan associations,
providing for better financial management and cash flows of individual members, increased access
to village based and local markets in their marketing groups, increased ability to manage group
funds for mutual benefit and increased ability to engage in productive activities rather than only
consumptive ones.
- Joint social activities: Through the learning groups community members have become more
aware of and willing to assist vulnerable individuals and groupings in their villages, including for
example young single mothers and ailing pensioners. Emergent characteristics here have been the
improved status of bothwomen and youth in these villages and has seen women both young and
more mature take on prominent leadership positions in their community structures.And
- Joint resource conservation activities: This is a more recent development, as a result of the
intensive participatory mapping and planning processes undertaken in this project, linked to
information provision regarding the state of their communal resource, such as veld assessments,
climate information, and resource assessments. Now, community members, through the CRA
learning groups and Dip tank committees have been engaged in regular environmental workdays,
undertaking erosion control measures, grazing management, river clean ups, alien clearing and road
maintenance.
The table below summarises this planning for Stulwane and Ezibomvini.
Table 3: Local resource management plans for village based CRA platforms: March 2023$
Local resource management areas for improved eco system services- Community defined
Key Area
Management required
Notes
Grazing areas
(Amadlelo)
-Livestock feed
and water,
firewood,
medicinal
plants,
Restoration and management.
-Clear Lantana and use poison after cutting to
stop regrowth
-Rotational grazing
-Control wildfires and make firebreaks. Storage
drums for emergencies with fire one can use
-Explore financial benefit – grant/incentive
mechanisms
-Monitor and manage nutrition of veld (erosion
control, overgrazing control, removal of
poisonous weeds, re-seed of palatable species)
-Awareness raising in the community and for
livestock owners.
-Eco-champs to do clearing
-Dip tank committees and livestock
associations
-Better community collaboration with
dip tank committee as well as TA and
councillors
-Community workdays
Wetlands
(Amacaphuza),
-Reeds
(incema)
-Food and
water for
cattle, also in
winter
-Medicinal
plants
-Fire retardant
-Runoff and
flood water
management
-Improved
water quality
Small management changes to manage
condition of wetlands.
-Fencing to ensure good condition and make
drinking troughs for livestock
-Awareness raising on wetlands functions and
services
-Replanting important species into wetlands;
then someone needs to police this and ensure
people don’t just harvest everything
-Protection and restoration of important
medicinal species for sale: Stop people with big
bags who come in and take for selling
-Avoid pigs coming in as they mess things up
-Avoid fires and burning
-Livestock inclusion managed e.g. –allow them
in at certain times only. Or maybe make camps
-TA involvement and ‘landowners’ in
wetland areas to outline rules and
responsibilities
-Community as a whole to follow
these
-Local water and land use committees
to undertake specific actions related
to water access and management
-Issues around rights around use of
water and important medicinal plants
need further interventions
-Suggestion: talk to livestock
association then bring their comments
and suggestions to the water
committee to continue the
conversation and include all
-Fertile soils
with
earthworms
and move them. Or allow them to graze on the
edges. Or cut and carry feed.
Erosion control
-To ensure
availability and
quality of
water and soil
resources
Restoration
-Awareness raising and outline of responsible
actions to enforce
-Avoid expanding of minor erosion into dongas.
-Prevent siltation and pollution.
-Allow re-vegetation, naturally or through re-
seeding
-Prevent run-off
-Check dams, brush packs, stone packs,
-Prevent livestock from causing further damage
-Control wildfire- make fire breaks
Storage drums for emergencies with fire one
can use
-TA and livestock committees to
undertake some actions
-Eco champs to assists
-Some actions and contributions from
community as a whole (e.g. loan of
tractors, small financial contributions
-External support
-Continued support from UKZN and
MDF in mapping, planning, proposal
development, community structures
and management
Alien trees
-Eucalyptus,
poplar, and
wattle
plantations,
and patches
Small changes
-Promote better management by ‘owners’
-Cut down and poison lantana and encroaching
poplars
-Ensure management of wattle patches
-Remove trees from water sources and streams
in all cases
-TA, Nkosi and ‘owners” encouraged
to undertake management activities
as trees are useful in the community
and cannot just be cleared.
Springs and
streams
-Water
provision for
drinking,
laundry,
irrigation,
construction
and livestock
-Water quality
and quantity -
Issues are
floods,
livestock
trampling,
children use as
toilet, litter
Protection, restoration, and management –
must protect the water sources to ensure
supply.
- Should protect water so that livestock don’t
disturb the sources
-Protect the springs; with fencing and the
ditches above to avoid water from flowing in
overland and contaminating these springs.
-Check water quality.
-Remove eutrophication.
-Check springs regularly.
-Drinking spots for livestock
-Community awareness and education – and for
children
-Maintain the water infrastructure that is there.
-Avoid doing laundry in the water sources and
keeping them clean, no pampers, no urination,
no use as toilet, no dumping of dead animals.
-Protect springs with pipes to be able to irrigate
the gardens (reticulation to taps)
-Also use grey water for irrigation.
- water harvesting and use.
-Make sure children don’t play around the water
sources… or pollute them
-WATER ACCESS:-Big issue
-TA, local municipality, water
committees and localised groups of
people using specific water sources to
work together on access and
management plans and
implementation
-Community must come together and
make rules and regulations re hygiene
and water
-Those that are involved should talk to
others and ensure they also learn -
involve the TA councillors and Nkosi….
-Asking Mahlathini to help with
fencing and funding for water access
-Day to day activities of cleaning
springs, digging furrows to reduce
contamination to be done by locals
-Dig refuse pits for disposal of waste –
in each locality
-Awareness raising and
communications
-Involve schools
-Eco champs to assist with spring
protection and management and
schools’ interventions
Figure 7: The Adaptative planning session undertaken in Stulwane, 29thMarch 2023$
3 LIVESTOCK INTEGRATION
b.Multipurpose poultry breeds
One aspect of climate change adaptation and more climate resilient agriculture is the introduction of
breed of livestock more suited to the changing conditions. In South Africa, for poultry this means
working with poultry breed that are heat tolerant, generally tough in the face of different stresses
and multipurpose. This means a breed that is good both for laying and for meat. This is also
necessary given the pressure on the poultry industry, post COVID-19, which has meant sharp
increases in commercial feed as well as difficulties and delays in supply of day- old chicks (broilers)
and point-of-lay hens (layers), reducing the profitability of keeping poultry by smallholder farmers
significantly.
The Boschveld chicken (www.boschvled.co.za) is a multipurpose breedoriginating from Limpopoand
is a cross between theVenda,Ovambo and Matabele chickens.The main aim of breeding was to
produce a hardy, no-fuss chicken, which is provides bothmeat and eggs. They can continue laying
eggs for at least two and a half years with in-bred disease resistance and hardiness. The roosters are
ready for slaughter at 12 weeks with hens ready to lay eggs at 18 weeks.
Boschveld chickens are good for free-range situations and can adapt to a range of management
systems. They do perform better when provided proper housing, feeding and vaccination. For
maximum performance and laying, Boschvelders are managed in the same wayas layers and are
provided with pullet starter and grower mash/pellets and later layer mash/pellets. They need to be
provided with nesting boxes to lay well. Otherwise they tend to hide their eggs in different places.
They are also easy to breed at home, either through separating broody hens and providing them
with clutches of eggs or using small incubators.
With Boschveld chickens eating and selling both eggs and meat a smallholder can average a profit of
around R580/ month from 10 chickens something that is not possible with the same number of
either broilers or layers (Information was obtained froma survey undertaken with 120 CRA learning
group participants engaged in poultry production).
Figure 8: Above left: Boschveld pullets (around 8weeks old) and Above right: 12-18 week old Boschveld hens and roosters.
Figure 9: Above left: An example of a nesting box provided by a smallholder in Limpopo and Above right: Boschvelder eggs
prepared and ready for sale
Case study for introduction of Boschveld chickens to smallholder farmers in MDF supported CRA
learning groups across Limpopo, KZN and EC (March 2024)
In addition to supporting existing participants with their broiler and layer production, MDF
introduced a focus on multipurpose chickensin 2023.
Specifically for layer production, supply of point of lay hens has been very sporadic in 2022-2023. In
addtion, feed and transport prices have escalated dramatically. This has meant a substinatial
reduction in participants keeping layers. In Limpopo specifically, the rolling heatwaves has increased
the mortality of layers substantially. In addtion, there has been a number of large scale outbreaks of
avian influenza/bird flue across South Africa, which has negatively affected the industry. The trend
for broilers has been similar, but not quite as severe.
A decision was thus taken to experiment with multipurose chickens as well as local production of
feed rations and cultation of crops for feeding poutlry. The intention is to assist farmers to also
breed their own flocks.
The Boschveld chickens were bred in Limpopo in the late 1990s‘ from a combination of three
indigenous Aafrican breeds (Venda, Ovambo and Matebele). They are suitable for both meat and
egg production and can withstand extreme temperatures. The breed has inbred diseases resistance
and is alert and active. It is best suited to fee-range conditions and doesn’t do well in close
confinement.
In terms of egg production they compare well with layer breeds and their production potential is on
average around 70% of that of layers. They start laying at around 18weeks of age (4eggs/hen/week)
and continue to lay for on average 2,5years. Laying declines in winter and declines sharply during
molting. Hens go broody and make excellent mothers.Roosters mature at around 12 weeks.
Boschveld Chickens in Bela-Bela, supplies Boschvelderes at various ages. Givne thier longer maturing
times, MDF has been procuring 4 week old chicks for the farmers. However they aren’t sexed yet at
that age, meaning a batch can contain many roosters. POL hens are also sold.
The small table below outlines the number of farmers who started with Boschvelders. Initially they
were provided with 10x4wk old chicks, one bag of 10kg pullet grower and 10 kg of layers mash. From
there any further orders of chickens and feed are to be managed by the farmers themselves. This is
in keeping with the strategy of supporting farmers to try out new things, to reduce the opportunity
risk for them, but not to create dependency in the longer term.
Area
No of villages
No of participants
No of 4wk old chickens (Oct 2023)
Bergville
5
39
390
Southern KZN
1
15
150
Midlands
2
30
300
Matatiele
5
40
400
Sekororo
5
50
500
18
174
1740
Figure 10: Above left: Boschvelder 4-week-old pullet delivery to a village in Bergville, KZN. Above centre: Betty works with
Mr Malatji in devliering pulltets for turkey viallge in Limpopo. Above right: Pullets and feed enroute to Matatiele.
Small learning and mentoring sessions were undertaken around Boschvlered management in each
village, primairly to ensure good hygiene, proper feeding and appropriate housing for these
chickens. They are good at scavenging and can get a proportion of their nutrients in that way, but
diets need to be supplemented with commercial feed. Quantities to be fed at specific times of day
were covered, to avoid over or under-feeding.
A poultry monitoring process was undertaken for all areas between February and March 2024.
Learning group participants were selected: those who had ordered more rounds of broiler chicks and
layer hens (although this number has been very small due to unavailability of commercial POL hens)
and Boschvelder chickens.
Table 4: Poultry monitoring Feb- March 2024: Participant numbers and poultry types.
Area
Village
No of
farmers
Gender (%
female)
broilers
Layers
Boschvelders
Traditional
chickens
October 2023-March 2024
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Overall, the number of participants still invovled in layer production has dwindled from 70
participants in 2022-2023, to 34 participants in early 2024. The number of participants involved in
broiler production has also decreased substantially from 249 participants in 2022-2023 to 92
participants in early 2024. These trends are a combination of reduced availability of chickens
commercially, drastically increased prices of feed and fuel and less expendable cash at household
level. This was compounded by MDF’s decision to only supply bulk orders where farmers have come
together to collect their monies and ordered 1 large consignment, rather than assisting a few
individauls at a time, as was done before. The latter was a conscious decision as it became clear that
most participants were working with numbers of broilers and layers which are too small to be
profitable (<50 broilers per round and fewer than 10 layers) and that for these farmers this
production was only possible through the‘ subsidisation‘ by MDF (ordering, transport and delviery).
The plan is to move as much as possible to multipurpose chickens, production of fodder and feed
rations and home breeding to develop a local value chain for poultry production which is more
independent of commercial fluctuations and more sustainable.
Below is a summarized anlaysis for the in-depth moniotring of the management of hte boschvlder
chickens for 119 participants across Limpopo, KZN and EC.
Table 5: In-depth monitoring for Boschvelder chicken management across 4 sites.
Record keeping for Boschvelders.
Matatiele
Limpopo
SKZN
Midlands
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From the analysis, the farmers in Limpopo have grapsed the concept of working with their
multipurpose chickens better than the other areas, already realizing that they are a good alternative
to layers and feeding them layers mash to promote egg production for sale. They have also
comparatively consumed fewer of the birds provided and focused more on breeding with these
chickens. They have focsed more on providing good housing and laying arrangements for thier birds
than the other sites.
Figure 11: Two examples of housing arrangements for the Boschvelders in Limpopo
The Midlands-KZNlearning group bore the brunt of the distribution between hens and roosters- as 4
week old birds are not yet sexed and it only becomes apparent a bit later on. For this group most
farmers had many more roosters than hens, and thus also the trend of more consumption as
roosters have been eaten at home. They are not that easy to sell as their meat is tougherthan the
more well-known broilers.
It is clear from the table above that those farmers who have not fed their Boschvelders, and treated
them like „normal“ traditional chickens have not reaped the potential benefits of this breed.In
addtion those who have fed their Boschvelders layers mash or a mixture of layers mash and maize
crush have seen the best results.
The belief in the villages that maize crush is
cheaper than layers mash has not been
shown to be correct. Generally when
farmers buy maize crush they buy in small
quantities (5 or10kg bags) which are in fact
proportionally much more expensive. The
feed costs in Limpopo were quite a bit
lower than KZN and EC, partly because
farmers worked together to buy larger
quantities in bulk and then shared the feed
between them.
Figure 12: Examples of Boschvelder housing, a hen
with chicks and an egg laying box for the Bergville
villages.
c.Fodder production
An element of sustainable livestock production is the production of livestock fodder for feed
supplementation for livestock (cattle and goats) grazing on low quality natural veld. Sourveld in
higher altitude and rainfall areas is of low quality in winter months and in all smallholder farming
regions due to sustained over-grazing.
In smallholder farming systems, fodder species need to be incorporated in a way that is appropriate
to the needs and requirements of the farmers. To date, the best option tried out with farmers is the
incorporation of fodder species into the multi-croppingConservation Agriculture dryland field
cropping process to allow for soil and environmental benefits in the system, while also producing
food and cash crops. Within this, two different options are available: annual and perennial fodder
crops.
Annual fodder production
This category consists of a mixture of cover crops, either planted in separate blocks or inter-cropped
with the food crops (maize, beans and pumpkins) in the CA system.
There are summer and winter cover crop mixes that are suitable for the temperate dryland climatic
conditions in KZN, EC, Free State and Mpumalanga. These cover crops are chosen for their fodder
value both green and as hay as well as for production of seeds/grain. The small table below provides
examples of cover crop mix species that have performed well under smallholder conditions.
Summer cover crops
Winter cover crops
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A few crops tried out that were not hardy enough for the context (including dry, harsh winters), or
was heavily predated by birds include millet, vetch, fodder peas, lucerne and sugar beets. Grass
species such as teff and Mooi river mix (Smutsfinger, Rhodes and buffalo grass) grew well, but
provided small quantities of dry biomass.
Figure 13: Above Left: An example of turnips planted as fodder and intercropped with summer cover crops. Middle:: Fodder
radish produces big tubers which are eaten by livestock. Right: Mooiriver mix grass
Figure 14: Above Left: Intercropping of a summer cover crop mix (sunflower, Sun hemp and fodder sorghum) with maize.
Middle: Winter cover crops (Saia oats, fodder rye and fodder radish) planted in a block and Right: Including of earth bunds
in a field of summer cover crops for erosion control and in field water flow management.
These crops can be cut and cried as green feed for livestock, grazed in situ (mostly for winter cover
crops) or allowed to grow to maturity and then harvested for seed and dry biomass which can be
either left in the fields for grazing or baled for late winter fodder supplementation.
Perennial fodder crops
These species are permanent in that they continue to grow for a number of seasons throughout the
year. Generally, these have been planted in contour strips in between maize and other cash crops.
This has provided an added advantage of soil erosion and runoff
control. The two most hardy species tried out, that could
withstand both the harsh winters and livestock grazing pressure
are Lespedeza (bush clover) and Tall Fescue grass. Of the grasses,
Tall Fescue has outperformed other species given its ability to
withstand drought as well as water logging.
Figure 15: Above Left: Strips of Lespedeza growing in a CA field. Right: Tall Fescue grass. Note the line where the green
starts, indicating the growth of tall fescue in autumn going into winter while other grass species die back,
Nutrients from different fodder options
The idea of producing fodder in a smallholder situation is to augment the nutrition of livestock which
are grazing in the veld. Important nutritional aspects to consider include the amount of fibre and
protein the fodder can add to their diet.
Fibre is usually calculated through two processes, one that quantifies the cellulose and lignin in a
feed (ADF) and one that gives an indication of
all fibre (NDF). If crude protein is also
provided as a percentage, then the small table
alongside can be used to get an idea of the
quality of the feed being analysed.
It is possible for a feed source to be either a
good source of fibre or a good source of protein or both. This depends also on the stage of growth at
which the fodder was cut and dried.
As an example, the table below summarizes the nutrient analysis undertaken in March and June
2023, for fodder species grown in the Bergville KZN regionand indicates fibre and protein content as
the two main ingredients.
Table 6: Fodder nutrient analysis for a range of fodder production options in the Bergville villages (July 2023).
Species
NDF %
ADF %
Quality
Protein %
Quality
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10,31
Good
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40,42
32,77
Good
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36,56
Moderate
10,49
Good
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38,65
27,79
Very good
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46,40
36,49
Moderate
16,73
Very good
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34,17
26,02
Very good
8,94
Good
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20,92
Very good
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40,36
23,06
Good
7,12
Moderate
The values in the table above indicate thatthe best fodder options from those tested are mature
green summer cover crops, bean stover with seed, maize stover and veld grass cut in May-June.
Recommendations developed with the farmers are:
•Maizestoverand veld grass would benefit from supplementation with a source of non-
protein nitrogen such as urea/SP33 or premix54, which would allow the rumen microbes to
digest it, and then to serve as a protein source.
•The fibre content of the Lespedeza could be improved by harvesting it before it is mature to
reduce the stem: leaf ratio (December-January). Lespedeza needs to be harvested and dried
carefully to reduce the loss of leaf materials.
•The dry bean residue can be fed ‘as is’ but would benefit from retaining some of the bean
seed, though this is perhaps a loss in terms of household income or nutrition. In this regard,
planting of cowpeas to use full plants (leaf, stem and seed) as feed has been suggested.
•Summer cover crops that are cut while still growing (December to January) are a good
source of nutrition.
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•Mature veld grass cut green in March had poor digestibility and low protein content. Veld
cut dry for baling in May-June showed much improved digestibility and a higher protein
content, similar to the maize and cover cropstover.
Baling and supplementation
In addition to growing some fodder, non-protein nitrogen and mineral supplementation added to
the roughage or hay is required to improve livestock nutrition.
Below is a suggested list of supplements that are easy to add to bales and reasonably priced:
•VOERMOL LS 33 is a molasses-based protein, vitamin, mineralsupplement in liquid form
(added at 100ml/kg of roughage)
•VOERMOL PREMIX 450 is a cost effective, ready-mixed maintenance lick for cattle on dry
veld. It can either be fed on its own or mixed with roughage/hay (at ~450g/animal/day)
Veld grass is cut at the end of the summer season (May-June), and baled for storage, so that it can
be used in the fodder supplementation process towards the end of winter (August-September) when
a lack of feed is common for livestock. It is possible to use locally made hand balers for this purpose.
Figure 16: To Left: Cattle feeding on bales mixed with supplements. To right: Veld hay bales stored during winter and
Bottom: the locally made hand baler used to bale cut veld grass.
Production of feed for poultry
Although it can be quite tricky to produce and mill full feed rations for poultry of various types and
ages it is worthwhile to supplement commercial feed with grit, grains, grubs and greens produced
locally. Chicks and pullets can be fed on demand and fully grown chickens need around 1/4cup of
dry feed per day for hens and 1/3 cup for roosters.
Never feed your poultry the following:
•Their own eggs
•Rotten or mouldy food
•Fatty or spicy cooked food.
The four G’s should all be provided for a balanced diet:
Grain:
This is seed like: sorghum, millet, oats, maize, or sunflower seeds.It should also include seeds with
high levels of protein such as soya, Sun hemp, cowpeas, mung beans or sugar beans.Yellow maize is
probably the best and cheapest grain to feed your chickens.
If the seeds are large, then provide cracked grains. It is always a good idea to provide a mixture and
range of grains, rather than just one type to provide more of a balance.
Greens:
Greens keep chickens healthy. They will get greens themselves if you let them scavenge during the
day, or you can feed them cabbage, comfrey, herbs and most kinds of fruit. They also like eating
vegetable scraps. A good idea is to feed the chickens weedsfrom your vegetable garden.
Further examples of greens include cabbage leaves, mustard spinach, Chinese cabbage, lettuce,
carrot tops, etc – basically any kind of leaves humans can also eat – but not leaves from tomatoes, or
peppers for example. Pumpkin leaves and squash are also a good source of Vitamin A.
Good sources of vitamin A and protein are clover, stinging nettle and lucerne.
Herbs can also be included and have additional health benefits for poultry include a wide range such
as parsley, comfrey, coriander, sage, oregano, rosemary, lemon balm and mint. Small amounts of
finely chopped onion and garlic are known to control internal parasites. Aloe gel included in the
water assists in reduction and treatment of bacterial infections (10ml/l of water). Turmeric and
cinnamon powder (roughly 1g/kg of feed) included in feed have anti-microbial and anti-
inflammatory effects.
Grit:
These aresmall stones that chickens need to help them digest their food.Good sources of grit are
coarse sand and small pebbles as well as clean gravel.Chickenscan collect their own grit if they have
somewhere to scratch around. Sometimes using used eggshells that have been baked and ground
are recommended. This however increases the danger of your chickens starting to eat their own
eggs and should rather be avoided.
Grubs:
Bugs and insects provide the chickens with most of the protein that they need so that they can grow.
They need protein to make muscles in their bodies and to make eggs. Growing soya beans and
feeding this to the chickens is another way to give them protein. If they are kept in a ‘chicken
tractor’, they can help you clear a new planting bed of bugs, prior to planting. It is also an idea to
collect insects and worms in your garden and feed these to your chickens. They will eat snails,
worms, and grasshoppers as well as aphids, moths flies and termites.
In winter you should feed your chickens commercial feed ormash (bought food), because there are
fewer insects and less grass/greensfor them to eat outside.
d.Protein blocks
These can be provided as licks to cattle during winter and can either be pre-bought or made locally.
Moulds for making of cement or earth bricks, which are commonly used work well for making these
blocks.
The ingredients and proportions to mix are as follows:
Product
Description
Amount
Voermol
Procon 33
This is a urea free high protein concentrate
for home mixing of high-quality animal
feeds.
32 kg
Coarse salt
Needs to be feed grade -can be bought
from supermarkets. Important mineral in
livestock feed.
4kg
Maize meal
Bought from supermarkets. Helps to
maintain weight and lactation for cattle
14kg
Whitewash
Hydrated lime – bought from building
supply stores. In the protein block it assists
in making the protein more palatable. It
supplies calcium and acts as a hardener for
the block
8kg
Molasses
Molasses improves appetite and digestion
and provides energy for the cattle
16L
Protein lick blocks are placed in kraals or areas where livestock can easy daily access. They provide
supplemental protein at levels that improve forage digestion and increase forage intake, for low
quality fodder.
4 NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
e.Erosion control measures
Brush-packing
Brush packing involves using woody material in eroded areas and small gulleys to restore the area,
provide for slower water-flow, some sedimentation and re-grassing of the area, either naturally or
through planting seed.
A variation on this practise which involves stacking the woody material on contour between a set of
pegs/stakes was tried out in the Stulwane village in Bergville as a joint activity between Mahlathini
Development Foundation, the Institute of Natural Resources and the Stulwane community. The site
was also used to gather runoff and sedimentation data and to experiment with planting of grasses to
speed up the rehabilitation effort.
The area wasselected to build on previous exposure of theEco champ team at Stulwane to work
being done by INR in the uMkhomazi Catchment withfunding from Umgeni Water. A group of the
Eco champs appointed by Mahlathini through the Amanzi Ethu Nobuntu (AEN) Programme, spent a
few days in the field with the INR work teams learning about clearing alien invasive plants and
building brush packs from the wattle biomass harvested during clearing.
The site in Stulwane was chosen jointly between the three groups; a gulley formed on the edge of a
wattle thicket that has worsened substantially over a short period of time. The first activity was to
smooth the edges of the steep sided gulley, to allow for rehabilitation (measurement of contours
using self-constructed A-frames and construction of brush packs).
Edges needed to be smoothed and levelled and some trees and small saplings of wattle in the gulley
itself needed to be removed before measuring the contours.
Figure 17: Above left to right: Gulley identification for rehabilitation jointly by community and support organisations,
starting the rehabilitation effort by smoothing out the steep sides of the gulley and constructing A-frames to measure the
contour lines.
Brush from cleared wattle close by was used. Two lines of pegs around 30cm apart were knocked
into place along the contours measured and the brush was packed in between these lines and held
in place by the pegs. The contours themselves were placed at a distance that provided for a 1metre
height difference between the contours, roughly 4-5 metres apart.
Figure 18: Above Left and Right: Constructing a brush pack and a view of one full brash pack constructed across the gulley.
Note that the line for the brush pack is roughly a half-moon shape along the contour.
Over time the brush in these packs disintegrate and become composted. Sediment is deposited
behind the packs and seed can be planted in these areas
Figure 19: Above Left and Right: Pictures showing the slow composting of the brush packs with sedimentation accumulation
and planting in of grass seeds into this sediment.
As sediment builds up, it then becomes possible to include further brush packs to allow for the
overall filling in of the
gulley over time. A
second set of brush
packs were
constructed roughly
one year after the
first round.
Figure 20: Right; A view of
the new brush packs that
were built, both over the
1stset which had been
covered by sediment and
in-between the initial
brush packs to allow for
further sedimentation and
re-seeding of grass. In the
foreground is one of the
run-off pans that were
placed throughout the site
to measure run-off.
Measurement of sedimentation was done in
terms of both the depth of the sediment
above and below each brush pack as well as
the length of the sedimentation behind the
brush packs.
Figure 21: Right and Far-right: Showing how the
measurements of sedimentation were done.
The small table below provides a summary of
the sedimentation data collected by the Eco
champs.
Table 7: Average sedimentation measurements for the brush packs in the rehabilitation site in Stulwane, Dec2023.
Brush pack no from top of slope
Depth of sedimentation (above-below) in
cm
Length of sedimentation plume in cm
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Average
15,8
73,4
This data indicates significant sedimentation with an averaged depth of 15,8cm, with a length of
sedimentation of on average 73,4cm behind each brush pack.
Eightrun-off plots were installed within the restoration site. The run-off plots were fitted with
buckets that collected run-off and the amount of water accumulating in the buckets was measured
after any rainfall event. This took place over the period from December 2022 to May 2023.
Measurements of rainfall receivedas well as run-off measured were maintained bythelocal Eco-
champs.Each of the buckets was buried downstream of its run-off plots to facilitate ease of flow.
The nature of the site is that itis a conduit for run-off from an adjacent road and despite all efforts,
heavy rainfall events dislodged a number of buckets during severe rainfall events. The readings from
these run-off plots are captured as ‘false’ below.
The replenishment figures are based on the reduction that is achieved through restoration efforts,
which both flatten (terrace) and revegetate the degraded area, transforming it from a steep sided
gulley with compacted, hard surface.
Figure 22: graphs outlining total runoff in litres from each of the 8 run-off plots installed in the rehabilitation site.
Two scenarios are provided below. The first compares a flat, well vegetated plot adjacent to the
original gulley (Plot 7) with run-off generated by a plot placed on the hard, compact, bare side the
gulley (Plot 8). This demonstrates the potential impact that restoration measures canhave in the
long-term.
The second scenario demonstrates the current effect of the restoration measures (given that the
revegetation process is still underway but the area has been flattened through the accumulation of
sediment behind the brush pack where the run-off plot has been installed. Thus, we compare the
run-off measured for Plot 5 with that measured for Plot 8.
Based on these two scenarios,
restoration can lead topotential
retentionof 0.945 ML per
hectare, while current levels of
restorationcan retain 0.441 ML
that would otherwise have been
lost as run-off, as shown in the
diagram alongside. Information
was provided by Dr B Letty from
the INR.
This is a significant amount of
water that can now be held in
the landscape due to the
restoration efforts.
If these results are compared
with increased infiltration
(through reduction of runoff) in
the Conservation Agriculture
experimentation on around 20ha
in the same area which averages
around 0,223ML/ha, it is
interesting to note that this type
of rehabilitation effort can keep 2
to 5 times the amount of water
in the landscape than the CA
principles of minimum tillage, soil cover and crop diversity. It also shows the importance of tackling
water conservation and management in the landscape from multiple angles to create and overall
improvement.
Check dams
A water harvesting check dam is a low barrier that is permeable (let’s some water through) and is
placed perpendicular to the flow of water within a drainage line.They are an improvement in the
design of ‘rocks in dongas’ or stone packs, which is a temptation for most people who first try to
undertake rehabilitation work. The two pictures below are examples of this. Despite the fact these
stone packs have had a positive effect in terms of slowing down water and catching sediment, the
danger of these rocks being washed further down the gulley or the water flowing underneath or
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around these structures, causing further damage, is high. In addition it also shows the temptation to
undertake one large structure further down the slope, rather than doing a series of smaller
structures, starting at the top of the gulley and moving all the way down its length.
Figure 23: Right and far Right:
Community level efforts in a village in
the Northern Drakensberg to do gulley
restoration. This structure was quite
stable due to it’s size and also the size
of the rocks used, but was not well
constructed and not keyed into the
banks – making it vulnerable to further
erosion.
By slowing down and spreading the flow of water the check dams help moisture infiltrate into the
soil, reduce downstream flooding and erosion, retain soil and organic matter on the upslope side of
the check damandstabilise the landscape.
Figure 24: A line drawing of a check dam viewed from the side,
showing the larger rocks placed downstream, the angles of the
upstream and downstream slopes and the apron downstream
to protect the gulley floor from further erosion.
Gabions are check dams in which the rocks are
encased in a wrapping of wire fencing or a wire
basket that holds everything together. It is also
possible to use netting, brush and straw bales for check dams if rocks are hard to find.
Where are check dams used?
Check dams are mostly placed across drainage lines and where
water flows after rainfall- but does not flow permanently. They
are also placed across eroding gullies. They work well to stabilise
roads or paths that cross drainage lines
Figure 25: Right: An example of a check dam constructed in a homestead field
in turkey, Limpopo, clearly showing the rocks keyed into the bank of the small
gulley and the downstream apron of this structure.
Materials
ROCK: Use angular rocks or stones rather than round ones. They
should be about 30-60cm in diameter and weigh around 9kg to
have enough anchoring weight. The smaller stones or rocks
should be 15-22cm in diameter.
How to build a check dam
Siting
•The check dam needs to be in a straight section of the drainage line.
•Place the check dams in gradually sloping sections of the drainage line.
•Do not place check dams in the narrowest point or just downstream of a narrow point, because
it will be subjected to increased speed and force of water.
•Build the check dam perpendicular to the channel you are placing it in.
Spacing
•Typically you start at the top of the drainage line and work your way down.
•Ideally a series of check dams should be placed heel-to toe, where the level terrace of
accumulated sediment and soil behind each check dam extends to the downstream end of the
check dam higher up.
Size
•They should be no taller than 1/3 to ½ of the channel; generally, 0.6-0.9m high.
•This height restriction ensures that the check dams are stable.
Construction
•Dig down into the bed and banks of your drainage line to create an anchoring trench. The trench
should be deeper depending on the stability of the soil and size of the water flow.
•Unstabilised banks (abrupt edges) should be cut back to a
1:1 slope. Then dig your trench into the more gradual
slope. Place the soil from the trench into the channel
upslope of the check dam to help initiate the silting in of
the dam, as shown in the small line drawing alongside.
•Carefully lay the larger, heavier rocks on the downstream
side of the check dam’s trench. It is important that they
are keyed into the bottom and sides of the trench and
are firmlyin position. They should not move when you push against them.
•Place smaller stones in the spaces between the larger rocks.
•The face of rock on the downstream side can be at an angle of 1:1. The upstream face should be
more gradual at 1.5-2:1. This diverts a portion of the water over the check dam rather than
absorbing the full force of flowing water.
•Build the top of the check dam in the shape of a
banana; with the lowest point in the centre. The
centre should be much lower than the ends which
should extend upwards to the top of each bank.
Preventing water from cutting around the ends of the
dam. This shape directs overflow water down the
centre of the drainage line, away from the sides where
it could cause more erosion.
•It is a good idea to place and apron of smaller even
stones, almost like paving, below the downstream face of the check dam. This will reduce the
eroding effect of the overflow water.
•If it is built correctly, you should be able to walk across your check dam wall without the rocks
moving or slipping.
Stone lines
Stone lines are a variation on the concept of stone packs, and are smaller structures built on contour
across a slope. The same concept of keying in the stones into the slope needs to be employed. This
means digging a shallow ditch for the bottom layer of larger stones to fit into, to avoid the rocks
rolling down the slope. Again, the larger rocks are places downslope and are filled in with smaller
rocks upslope at a less steep angle.
Stone lines are most effective where sheet erosion is occurring due to the effectof waterflow and
wind on denuded landscapes and where small gulleys are in the process of being formed.
Figure 26: Above Left and Right: Examples of stone lines constructed in the grazing lands of a Northen Drakensberg village.
f.Alien clearing
Generally processes for alien clearing are well documented through the many stewardship processes
undertaken in South Africa during the last few decades. As it involves mostly training of participants
in clearing techniques and judicious use of the correctherbicides, these will not be re-explained
here. The following points serve to emphasise best management options in alien clearing activities.
–The clearing programme and type of herbicide to us is specific for each type of alien and needs
to be given strict attention.These are different for different agroecological zones.
–As aliens take hold in soils or areas that have been disturbed, cleared or mismanaged- a big
component of a systemic approach would be management of areas post-clearing – something
that can be tricky to manage as these are generally large areas. Post-clearing management
includes: replanting, re-clearing, fencing or other actions to reduce grazing pressure, and other
grazing management processes.
–Productive use of cleared biomass is also considered good practice – e.g. use for erosion
control, firewood, fencing, and biocharproduction.
g.Wetland rehabilitation
A wetland is land which is transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water
table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is periodically covered with shallow water, and
which in normal circumstances supports or would support vegetation typically adapted to life in
saturated soils.
Riverine and palustrine wetland complexes occur in mountainous area. Palustrine wetlands are
marshy areas without open water, such as swamps, marshes, and wet meadows.They are
characterized by the presence of trees, shrubs, and emergent vegetation, which is vegetation that
grows above the surface but is rooted below water.
Wetlands are important because they:
-Clean water,
-Provide hydrological buffering: Flood and drought management in systems,
-Provide fornatural vegetation and wildlife corridors,
-Provide resources for local livelihoods and
-Have spiritual and cultural value
The ‘wise use’ principle
acknowledges that wetlands can
provide numerous benefits to
human communities while ensuring
their long-term ecological
sustainability. It involves promoting
actions that maintain the ecological
character of wetlands, while also
addressing the needs of local
communities, promoting sustainable
livelihoods, and considering cultural
values.
In rural communities, wetlands often are quite badly degraded because they are channelled to
reduce the water-logged areas, and also heavily utilised for resources such as reeds, sand, silt, clay
and water and are often severely overgrazed, providing much needed grazing in winter, when other
grazing is limited. Their critical value in terms of water management and eco system services are
often not well recognised by communities.
In order to becost effective, wetland rehabilitation shouldbe integrated with wetlandconservation
within a broad-scale, holistic wetlandmanagement programme that is, in turn,nested within a
catchment managementprogramme.
The most typical rehabilitationinterventions designed to assist in therecovery of degraded wetland
ecosystemsare ‘plugs’ constructed within artificialdrainage channels. The ‘plugs’ are placedwith
the intention of re-instating a morenatural hydrology. Typical interventions formaintaining the
health of wetland ecosystemsthat are in the process of degrading are theplacement of erosion
control structureswhich assist in halting the advance througha wetland of an erosion head cut.
Rehabilitation may also includeinterventions such as reducing livestockgrazing-pressure or reducing
the frequencyof burning(Russel, 2009).
It is also important to restore the areas around the riverine and palustrine systems in mountainous
areas, to improve the waterflow in the system and reduce erosive pressure on the wetlands. Thus
starting upstream of the wetland patches is a good idea.
1.Some ideas to fix paths and side walls of dongas that threaten wetland patches
Stone pitching: the path is changed into steps by digging in stones into the path surface, flat side up
(above). It may need a bit of sculpting of the soil and banks around the paths to create on flattish
reasonably sloped area where the path should be and removing the smaller side paths formed by
heavy traffic (below)
The stone paths are
constructed into the
small gulley that is
forming, rather than
the’newer’ path
alongside.
Soil inversion paths:Here in a ‘bad land’ patch where multiple small paths and gulleys are forming,
the soil is dug out and placed sub-soil up, to create a raised path with drainage ditches on the side
(Above). It also works well in patches that become bogs or wetlands in therainy season (below)
Water bars:Install water bar “speed bumps” tobreak up the slope and keep water from
concentrating on a pathway.
1.Dig the trench – Dig a trench for the wood that is
a 30° angle across the path. Be sure the trench
and the water bar extend off both sides of the
path. The trench should be deep enough that the
top of the log will be almost flush with the trailon
its downhill side once in place. Soil and rock
excavated from the trenchshould be heaped on
the trail below the water bar to be used later as
backfill.
2.Install the log or timber – Place the log or timber
in the trench. The log should fit snugly in the trench with no high point or voids under the
log. Secure the water-bar with large stones, rebar pins or wooden stakes. If using stones,
partially bury on downhill side. If using rebar, make sure thatthe rebar is flush or slightly
recessed with the topof the log.
3.Backfill around the water bar – Dig a 30cm wide and 15cm deep trench along the up-hill side
of the bar. Fill the trench with crushed stone, leaving a few inches of the timber exposed.
Place a flared apron of stones to armour the water-bar outlet. Pack soiland gravel up against
the downhill side of the water bar so that the top of it is flush with the trail. Cover all
disturbed soil withseed and mulch or leaf litter.
Steep slopes
Here one can use vegetation or fibre rolls placed in small ditches on the slope and pegged in with
erosion
mats or
blankets in-
between.
Or silt
fences can
also work,
but not on
very steep
or unstable
slope.
Erosion control blankets:Used to prevent surface
erosion and enhance vegetation establishment. Soil is
loosened and seeded beneath the blanket, so that
vegetation can grow through - Appropriate for disturbed
soil on steep slopes, as a flexible liner for drainage ways,
stream banks, swales, basins and behind rock slope
protection - protection for stream banks, outfalls and
spillways.
Here shade cloth was pegged into an
embankment using strong 30cm long
pegs to clad the slope. In the far right
ditches were dub into the slope as well
and planted to vegetation in between
the clad embankment areas. Above
the embankment a drainage/diversion
ditch leads water away from edge,
reeds/vetiver, deep rooting grasses are
planted.
5 WATER ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT
h.Self-supply options (springs, streams, boreholes)
The policy framework for water service provision in South Africa consists broadly of the Water
Services Act 108 of 1997 (WSA), the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA) and the National
Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) which make provision forthe regulation and
provision of water services by different state institutions in South Africa. The revised and updated
Water Act (2023) allows for various levels of self-supply options in collaboration with water service
authorities as options for locallevel water supply.
The first important concept in self-supply and collaboratively managed systems is that of
multipurpose use of water. Households in rural communities need more than the 25l per person per
day of drinking water, which is the present allocation being used by Water Service Authorities.
Water for health and hygiene and productive purposes is also required. For these systems point of
use purification is recommended thus at household level.
These self-supply options can take a number of forms:
ØSelf-supplyis 100% user-funded, governed and operated. A community-based and informal
organisation is usually established to deal with governance and operational matters. Water
infrastructure is provided on incremental basis. Users decide on the most appropriate
technology, financing arrangements, cost-recovery strategy and type of services they want.
Spring water protection and small piped water schemes that use gravity to feed small
reservoirs are preferred options...
ØBlended self-supplyprovides for an arrangement where communities are supported by
organisations (mostly NGOs) and funders in their local water supply schemes. This allows for
a more formal initiation of community-based institutions, a coherent process for full
community participation and capacity development in takingsome project management
roles as well as operations and maintenance roles post project completion. This approach is
more appropriate for small, reasonably isolatedrural communities.
ØCollaborative/co-managed water management between communities and mandated
Government stakeholdersis presently considered a good option. IN this approach
communities and the Water Service Authority (WSA) and water service providers (WSP)
jointly negotiate and outline each party’s role in the water provision and management
process. Generally, the community will undertake day-to day management, upkeep and
maintenance of a water supply scheme installed by the WSP after full negotiation with the
community about the particulars of the scheme. The WSA holds the responsibility for major
repairs and refurbishment of the system.
Important principles that shouldbe considered and implemented if communities are to play a role in
their own water management are:
ØCommunities shouldbe given a voice in making decisions regarding their own water.
ØMobilisation of communities should happen from the very start of the endeavour and not
only in the use phase.
ØRecognising (on both community- and authority side) that communities have co- or
complete ownership of scheme and the responsibility that goes along with it.
ØCo- or complete ownership requires commitment on the community’s side to take up their
portion of responsibility in terms of operations and management of the scheme and its
infrastructure.
ØDifferent stakeholder input and support is required through the different phases of the
intervention and through its life cycle.
An initial assessment or hydro census is required to identify sources of water in the community, to
understand how this water is presently being used and by whom, and to identify existing challenges
and start to think into possible solutions. The prioritization of water sources (springs, small streams
and or boreholes) depends on the strength of the source, the location, whether appropriate
protection and use options can be implemented for this source, how it can be reticulated and who
can have access. In reality, these local sources are generally limited in terms of the number of
households that can be supplied. Thus, it is important to look at the whole landscape to design a
patchwork of local options that can supply water equitably to the large community,while also
protecting the environment and these sources form over-use and contamination.
Figure 27: An example of a community meeting, in StulwaneBergville, to discuss protection of prioritized springs and
exploring the maps to outline each household’s access. The map and a close up of women discussing where the header
tanks and taps for household access should be placed.
i.Low-tech springprotection options
Springs occur in a landscape when underground water is pushed to the surface. This occurs most
frequently for gravity springs in and around wetlands and streams and also as seepages along
gradients. Springs can be either seasonal or perennial and vary in strength. To protect a spring, its
flowrate needs to be no less than 10l/second (Rose, Mojela, Msomi, & Matandela, 2021).
Generally, all protected springs will have the following key elements in their design: the eye, a silt or
settling chamber, and a collection or storage chamber with a tap or access point. The actual
structures can differ greatly. The pictures below show a community level effort at spring protection.
Figure 28: Left to Right: the ’intake’ pond for
the spring leading to the siltation chamber
which has a slotted pipe buried and covered
with gravel and bidim cloth, to lead the
water to a storage tank (2500l Jo-Jo tank)
lower down the hill.
In this example 9 households were involved and the water was gravity fed to a 2200l Jo-Jo tank and
then reticulated to each of the households using 200Ldrums with float valves to manage the daily
water allocations for each household
Figure 29: Above Left to right: the 2200L header tank from which water is gravity fed to 9 households. The piping being
installed leading to the households. The 200L drum with float valve installed at each household.
The eye is the point where the water emerges from the ground. An intake chamberis usually built
around this point. The silt chamberallows for settling of sediment. An upper outlet draws cleared
water out and a lower outlet scours and cleans out sediment from the tank. The storage chamber
stores the water or directs to larger storage structures. It needs an overflow.
Steps in spring protection:
There are two routes to follow, the more formal structural process of installing a spring box as the
intake chamber or a less formal route where the intake is protected with gravels, stones a weir is
built the area is fenced.
Figure 30: Line drawing of an informally protected spring, showing an open/closed chamber/weir at the spring eye, the silt
chamber and the storage tank.(Rose, Mojela, Msomi, & Matandela, 2021)
The steps in constructing such an informal protected spring will be provided in a bit more detail
below
Protection of the spring catchment area
A surface water drainage ditch is dug above and aroundthe spring area to divert surface water run-
off frompolluting the source. This should be dug a minimum of 8mfrom the source, preferably
further away if possible. The areashould then be fenced to keep animals and people outof the area.
(OXFAM, 2008)
Opening up the eye of the spring
ØThis must be undertaken with great care as any form of ‘back-pressure’ on the water could
cause it to change its route and the eye of the spring to move. Spring water follows the path
of least resistance.
ØA temporary drainage channel can then be made to ensure that the water can continue
flowing during construction and to prevent puddling.
ØThe area immediately beneath the point of discharge (eye or seepage area) should be
excavated until either the horizontal water layer or firm rock are reached.
ØThe excavation should proceed into the slope until a height of earth above the discharge
point is a minimum of 1m. A spring from a rock face requires minimal excavation, but a
spring with widespread seepage may require an excavation of several cubic metres.
ØPlace loose stones and gravel over the area of the eye of the spring for some initial
protection.
ØAfter excavation the spring area should be left for 24-48 hours to enable it to stabilise,
before additional construction work.
The structure which is required to catch the water from aspring will depend on several factors.
These includethe size of the spring and whether the users will come tothe spring, or the water will
be taken in a pipe to the users.
Construction of retaining wall, catchment dam or cut off wall, spring box and valve chamber
ØA dry-stone retaining wall should be built against the excavated slope. This wall is built using
cement bricks or similarsized stones and both acts as a retaining wall and allows the water
to pass through into the collection areas with minimal sediment.
ØA catchment dam or ‘cut-off’ wall with wing walls, is designed to catch as much water as
possible and direct it into the collection chamber (see the diagram below). It should be
constructed in an excavated trench of minimum depth 20cm to help ensure that water does
not seep under the wall. (Penn State Extension, 2023)
Figure 31: Alternative collecting system and cross-sectional view of concentrated spring. (Adapted from Safeguarding Wells
and Springs from Bacterial Contamination, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, The Pennsylvania State
University.)
ØThe collection chamber and valve chamber are then constructed on the downstream side of
the catchment wall and the bottom of the collection chamber should be concreted. It is
possible also to construct this chamber inside the catchment wall, created at the lowest
point of the wall (v-box).
ØThe overflow pipe from the collection chamber should be lower than the catchment dam
wall to prevent back-pressure.
ØThe area behind the catchment dam is filled with stones and, with smaller stones nearer the
eye and larger nearer the wall.
ØIn most circumstances this catchment box is provided with a cover (first a heavy duty plastic
sheet, then the excavated soil and then a layer of topsoil).
Below is a small example of how this construction process was used and adapted for a wetland
spring protection and reticulation process for Costone village in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal. In this case
the collection chamber was built into the catchment wall, the area behind the catchment wall/dam
was filled with stones and small rocks and the are was fenced off. The pictures below are indicative.
This localised community owned system, was initiated as community level process of allowing the
community to frame their request and start the process by setting up a water committee and doing
the initial ‘water walks” and surveys. As it is a gravity fed system, ongoing financial contributions are
not required. 28 Households have been supported, with an allocation of between 200-380l of water
per household per day, from 4 standpipes.
Figure 32:Above Left to Right: The original spring before protection in Stulwane, Bergville. The catchment wall with v-box in
the bottom corner and covered with rocks, gravel and sand towards the eye. Building in the overflow pipes. The protected
spring with a fence around to protect it and a small catchment area above the spring.
Construction of storage tanks and taps for community access.
A supply pipe from the v-box in the catchment wall gravity feeds water to the storage tanks. Many
different options are possible. In our example from Costone in Bergville a cement base was
constructed for the two linked 2500l Jo-Jo tanks. From there pipes were laid towards 4 taps, to allow
for household level water access not more than 200m away from each homestead supplied by this
small scheme. The pictures below are indicative.
Figure 33: Above Left to right: Construction of the cement platform for the tanks. The two joined 2500l Jo0Jo tanks. Digging
ditches and laying pipes for the community taps. An example of a community tap upon completion.
Below is a small example of working with small mountain streams which have perennial springs
within their system. For these sources, it is important that the overall stream flow is not impeded, as
there are also legal restrictions on top of the environmental and equity concerns. In addition, the
amount of water abstracted here should not be in excess of 10-15% of the total volume of
streamflow. If this water is used for any commercial concerns or is in excess of the basic human
consumption requirement, water use licences will be required. All such abstractions need to be
registered with the relevant WSA. Below is a small example of how this was tackled for a mountain
stream in Stulwane, Bergville.
Here a small intake and silt chamber is built next to another small chamber which has the pipe taking
water to the brake pressure tanks and the main storage tanks.
Figure 34: Above Left to right: the intake and silt chambers built into a small mountain stream in the dry season. A view of
these small structures in the rainy season. The cement lid for the 2ndchamber to only allow ‘cleaner’ water from the initial
intake chamber to pass through to the tanks.
Figure 35: Above Left to Right: A brake pressure tank with float valve under construction. One of the header tanks. An
example of an air valve for further air and pressure release. A section of carbon-steel piping in a portion where pipes could
not be buried.
Strengths of this process
-Community involvement from inception through to completion.
-All households in the scheme (75) have been involved in the meetings.
-Understanding at community level of the intention for multiple sources and multipurpose
water provision.
-All households involved provided both labour and financial contributions to the scheme.
-Sub-committees were set up for each section to allow for around 20-30 households working
closely together.
-The sub-committees are represented on the village-level water committee.
-Involvement and inclusion of the Traditional Council ward councillor.
-Ongoing facilitation and problem-solving support from the NGO partner in the process
-Linking of water access to broader water resources management issue in the village and
catchment.
-Incremental inclusion of neighbouring villages in discussion
-Community level agreements for water access and water use (quantity/day /household)
have been agreed to and is policed by the water committees.
Weaknesses
-Despite numerous attempts peripheral involvement only of the municipal councillor and no
involvement from the uThukela WSA.
-The implementation of a borehole reticulation system by uThukela WSA in parallel to this
community initiative, without clear linkages and or management agreements between the
two has exacerbated the lack of trust between the community and the municipality –
strengthening the community belief that the municipal intervention is an election ploy.
-Planning for implementation and water supply as well as handover by the WSA has been
unsatisfactory, with an emphasis on quickly supplying something, rather than a considered
approach to be able to reliably supply the basic water service requirements.
-Despite recognition of different flow volumes in the streams for summer and winter,
planning and implementation by the NGO and the community, was unable to fully take into
account the severity of flooding- causing damage to v-boxes and piping.
-Community members themselves work on a mainly verbal basis, meaning that agreements
and decisions often morph to what individuals want them to be, rather than what was
actually decided. Discipline in holding to group decisions is generally a bit low.
-Community members, despite agreeing to the communal standpipes will be tempted to
splice their own household taps into the system. Given that it is a gravity fed, low-pressure
system, such actions could leave a number of the existing taps dry.
j.Governance
These localised community managed water schemes (self-supply) are constrained by the topography
of the areas, the strength of the source and the distance to households. It is important to ensure
that the schemes are designed to provide a reasonable amount of water (100-500l/day) to the
participating households and that the whole community understands that the concept is to provide
a patchwork of smaller supply schemes to specific households only, in a way that all households are
eventually included from different sources. This is a model for managed equitable access, rather
than open access. The original protected sources remain open for use by the community at large and
this needs to be planned into the design of the system. In addition, planning of livestock watering
points is a further important element of these systems.
Two strategies exist for formalising the localised water committees – one of intensive upfront
organisational structuring, election of office bearers and development of constitutions and rules. The
second is to develop this process over time, based on the experiences and motivation of the group.
Mahlathini has opted for the second approach, as this allows the members of the informal groups to
slowly formalize their institution as required by circumstance and also provides weight to the
decisions made in a participatory way. Governance improves over time. Although this process
primarily works through resolution of conflict and instituting rules to avoid specific circumstance
from occurring again, it is much more participatory and inclusive than the first strategy and generally
leads to a more sustainable outcome. It also allows for an understanding that conflict is inevitable
and for ‘experimentation’ with ways in which to resolve emerging conflicts, rather than providing an
initial top-down approach. This process, however, does need to be facilitated over a period of time,
as communities need to learn how to agree to and honour negotiated agreements.
Roles of committee members:
•Responsible for any issues arising with the water scheme
•Fix problems with any people not following the rules
•Allocate the use of water and ensure everyone who is eligible gets
•Check regularly that the system is working and used properly
•Open a bank account for the financial contributions and undertake small maintenance
activities.
•Call meetings with membership to report on usage, maintenance issues and get permission
to use funds for specific activities.
•Communicate with the community level water committee and also the Traditional Authority
and councilor.
•Request assistance from community level water committee for issues they cannot solve.
Local water committees
Care needs to be taken to ensure that these committees are well represented and should include
representation from:
ØThe traditional ward councils
ØThe Local ward councils (Local Municipality)
ØLocal representatives of the Water Service Authority and providers
ØMembers form local development structures and interest groups, including for example the
livestock association, development committees, farmers associations and groups,
cooperatives, churches, schools and creches and
ØLocal household members; both with access to individual water supply options (like
boreholes and springs) and without.
These committees need well developed constitutions with roles and responsibilities outlined
therein. These committees also need to have arrangements in place for operations and maintenance
of the water service in their village as well as security of infrastructure.
Guidelines for community level engagement
Community members need to be engaged in initial baseline, vulnerability and feasibility
assessments for proposed water supply schemes.
Community members need to understand water access options, water sources and availability and
water use implications for their village.
Community members need to be provided with information to be able to assess the proposed
scenarios for development of water access options.
Community members need to be provided space for learning and analysis of concepts related to
water management in their areas, including for example climate change impacts, rainfall and water
infiltration, groundwater and groundwater management, water quality for drinking and
multipurpose use, technical aspects of proposed systems, solar energy, water purification options,
water use and conservation etc., so that they are better able to make informed decisions.
Community members need to develop an understanding of water provision as a service with the
potential for different levels and sources of access for different purposes and different levels of
access to this service dependant on financial and other contributions.
In complex programmes scenarios are developed. These are refined in the planning and
implementation and yet further changes can occur during the contractual and commissioning
phases. Expectations are raised in each phase and community members often remember well what
was “promised’ at the beginning. This process requires careful explanation on an ongoing basis.
NOTE: the tendency is to not provide detail or make specific ‘promises’ to avoid the resultant
conflict, but the better practise is to explain the changes and difficulties as the process unfolds,
which despite being a lot more intensive has the advantage of also increasing community level
understanding of the issues and problems involved and this level of transparency builds trust and
rapport between the role players, as well as a level of accountability in expenditure.
Community members need to engage with and negotiate all parameters of the scheme to be able to
take responsibility for further operation, management and maintenance.
Community members need to be involved in decision making on a day-to-day level and in
selection/election of local water governance structures/committees.
They need to be a part of the process of decision making around beneficiation and equity.
k.Field cropping
Plant bio stimulants
Bio stimulants are substances or microorganisms that, when applied to seeds, plants, or on the
rhizosphere, enhances flowering, plant growth, fruit set, crop productivity, and nutrient use
efficiency, and are able also to improve the tolerance against a wide range of abiotic stressors, such
as heat and drought.
Plant bio stimulantsare very heterogeneous materials, and fall roughly intothe followingfunctional
categories:
•humic and fulvic acids,
•animal and vegetal protein hydrolysates, (peptides and free amino acids which enhance
germination and plant growth and soil microbial functioning)
•macroalgae seaweeds extracts,(Contain the amino acids, but also a range of other organic
and inorganic elements) and
•silicon, as well as
•beneficial microorganisms: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and N-fixing bacteria of
strains belonging to the genera Rhizobium, Azotobacter, and Azospirillum (sustainable and
efficient tools for providingyield stability under low-input conditions in particular N and P
deficiency, andto improve crop tolerance to extreme temperatures, drought and salinity).
The most popular ingredients include humic substances (humic and fulvic acids), seaweed extracts,
beneficial bacteria, and beneficial fungi(Rouphael & Colla, 2020).
The Zylem products
Regen-Z (https://regenz.co.za), is an agricultural services business focusing on regenerative
agricultural practices and innovative farming solutionsand have tailored bio-stimulant products to
improve soil health and fertility with the aim to reduce and ultimately replace chemical fertilizer
inputs in conservation agriculture farming systems.
The range of bio-stimulants produced by Zylem include the 5 products below
PopUp:Is a combination of AminoK, Seabrix and MicrosZ and contains triacontanol, kelp, fish
hydrolysate, fermented molasses, essential trace elements and fulvic acid fractions in optimal ratios
for boosting crop growth. It is used as an in-furrow application forall row crops as well as foliar and
soil application at regular intervals to enhance plant growth.
Seabrix: Is a formulation of fermented molasses, fish hydrolysates, kelp and triacontanol. It is
effective as a foliar and soil application at regular intervals to enhance plant growth an to feed the
biology in your soil.
AminoNPK: Is a pH netural , carbon buffered NPK liquid fertilizer, combined with natural enzymes,
vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Regular foliar srpaysing of AminoNPK assures maximum yiled
and qualtiy and reduces incidence of diseases.
PSSP blend:Is an organic fertilizer product can be added in combination with the liquid bio
stimulants to completely replace chemical fertilizers over time.This blend is mixed in a 50:50 ratio
with local compost and then added to the furrows before planting, at a rate of 500kg/ha.
Smallholder experimentation
For the standard block and strip trials for smallholder farmer in Bergville the recommended products
and quantities are provided in the table below.
Per single
1000 sqm
package/plot
Product
Events
Quantity required (mL)
Bottles(L)
PSSP (500kg/ha)
1
50kg
Seabrix (0.5%)
5
250
1
PopUP(0.5%)
4
400
1
Amino NPK (0.5%)
20
2000
2
These are mixed with water and sprayed on the soil and plants using knapsack sprayers. Generally,
the plot is sprayed at weekly intervals. It is also possible to spray every 2ndweek by doubling the
amount and water or every third week by tripling the amount and water. Spraying weekly is the
most effective. The table below shows how they should be diluted.
Area sqm
1000
Application rate
0,50%
Growth Stage
Required
water
(L/ha)
L/Application (ml of product)
Weeks (No of
applications)
Total L
Seedling
150
15(75ml)
3
45
Vegetative growth
250
25(125ml)
3
75
Tassellingand Silking
350
35(175ml
3
105
Grain fill and maturation
400
40(200ml)
5
200
Senescence
250
25(125ml)
2
50
Total Liters of water
475
Totalof Biostimulant
2,375
The diagrams below indicate the use of fertilizer vs PSSP and alsothe maize varieties that are being
trialled in 2024. The green blocks also indicate where the bio stimulants will be used in the strip and
fodder trials. These are provided as an example of how the local level experimentation process can
be set up with participants on their farms.
BLOCKS (10x10m)
1 M
2
M+B
3 SCC
4 M
5 M+B
trial 2-3
varieties of
maize
10
M+CP/Pk
SCC
8 M+B
7 M
6 SCC
Strips
1 M
1 M
CAP341NG
2 M+B
2 M+B
PAN53
3 SCC
3 SCC
fertilizer (grey)
4 M
4 M
SPPS (green)
5 M+B
5 M+B
6 SCC
6 SCC
7 M
7 M
8 M+B
8 M+B
9 SCC
9 SCC
10
M+CP/Pk
10
M+CP/Pk
Fodder Strips
M
Zylem Maize
B/WCC relay, fodder Rye or Lab-Lab
CAP9006Q
M
SPPS (green)
Lespedeza
M
Tall Fescue
M
B/WCC relay/fodder rye/ lab-lab
Next steps
The next steps are to finalise the inputs for the new practices, produce the 1page summaries to be
used in the DSS and to update the online profile and system
4.DSS REFINEMENT
An aspect of this research brief is the refinement of the online decision support tool that was
developed in the 1stround of this research process, and which is presently hosted on the MDF
website.
The main points we wanted to consider are the following:
–How best to disseminate this decision support process
–Inclusion of up-to-date climate data into the model to provide for a more nuanced decision
support processwith respect to climate change.
1.DISSEMINATION OF THE DSS
Use of this platform, as an independent and individual process for making decisions around
appropriate climate resilient agriculture practices has been extremely low. The diagram below
provides an indication of the traffic on the MDF websitefor 2024, of which only a proportion(`30%)
would be for looking at the DSS page.The report indicates 11 visitors to the site during 2024.
Figure 36: MDF website traffic statistics for 2024.
The largest interest has been from other academics in the climate change policy space and
specifically those involved in considering early warning systems. Other service providers in the
sector, mainly NGOs have also shown someinterest in the use of this tool. Smallholder farmers
however have not used the online tool at all, which was not an unexpected outcome and is also the
reason why the bulk of this process has focused on facilitated support towards decision making in
adaptation. The tool has been veryuseful to facilitators running workshops and processes with
community members and small-scale farmers.
Due to this, it was decided to disseminate the online tool through existing online networks and
platforms. For this process we focused on the Adaptation Network and the Amanzi for Food online
platform (Rhodes University)
a.Adaptation Network
Through financial support from the Flander government, the Adaptation network has spent
18months on a capacity enhancement programme for the network and members. One aspect of this
work has been the development of an online climate Information Tool, which allows exploration ofa
curated set of open access toolkits designed to support climate change adaptation. These toolkits
have been developed by a range of organisations in South Africa and globallyandcater to various
needs.The weblink is https://adaptationnetwork.org.za/climate-information-tool/
Makhathini’ssmallholder decision support system is one of five featured tools on this link (of 39
tools in total) and has been given a central place on this website.The network has over 50
organisational members and 100 individual members and is well represented across a diverse range
of stakeholders and role players in the sector and is well situated to host the smallholder decision
support system
b.Amanzi for food
The Amanzi for Food project, also supported through the WRCand run by the Environmental Learning
Research Centre (ELRC) at Rhodes university, providesopen and freeaccess to materials and
education on different ways of using rainwater for food production.Theproject makes these materials
available in user-friendly formats for use by everyone who is interested in the use of rainwater for
growing food, or in teaching others about RWH&C.
Throught discussion with WiIma van Staden and Lawrence Sisitka who are presently developing the
materials, running the online courses and developing digital tools, MDF has joined this project as a
partner (https://amanziforfood.co.za/partners/).
The materials developed in the WRC project entitled Climate change adaptation for smallholder
farmer in South Africa,(WRC K5-2179-4)(Kruger, 2021), have also been included in the social learning
section of the website (https://amanziforfood.co.za/sociallearning/). This adds a further valuable
dissemination process for the learning materials and the decision support tool developed for
smallholder farmers and also serves to enrich the Amanzi for Food repository with information on
climate resilient agriculture to augment the rainwater harvesting and conservation focus.
2.INCLUSION OF CLIMATE DATA
When the Dss tool was designed between 2019-2021, the idea was to add a layer of climate data
information into the model, which could further ’filter’ practices according to various scenarios of
climate change and or weather variability.
Discussions were held with SAEON, the SA weather Services and Professor Peter Johnston from
Climate Systems Action group (CSAG) at the University of Cape Town.
Prof Johnston presented the ongoing development of a seasonal forecast platform designed to
enhance accessibility and comprehension for farmers. This initiative, which has been in progress for
three years, involved collaboration with farmers and agricultural students to address the challenges
of existing forecasts that were difficult to access and understand. The new platform allows users to
select their location and view tailored forecasts, emphasizing the need for a user-friendly interface
that can handlerobust bandwidth due to its interactive nature. Johnston explained the methodology
behind selecting rainfall thresholds, illustrating how users can utilize historical climatology data to
make informed decisions based on average rainfall patterns.The idea is to provide the likelihood (as
a percentage) of the scenario being forecasted, to allow for a more informed decision-making
process by farmers.
One of the problems with this platform, also an issue with all such platforms that provide real time
data, is that the process needs a lot of bandwidthand data computing capacity to be reliable. In
some ways this has been the most difficult aspect of the process to manage,and a stable solution
has as yet not been found.
Prof Johnston provided an advisory using the platform, to give an example of the kind of information
that could be gleaned from this platform, if it were to be linked to the farmer decision support tool.
The advisory which is for the Westen Cape is providedin the Attachments section “Reporton SW
Cape winter rainfall season 2024 (April- August): Overberg and Swartland”to give an idea of the
depth of analysis used by the platform to provide a reliable probabilistic forecast.Effectively data
from three different modelling platforms were analysed to provide an advisory that stated a 40%
chance of below normal rainfall in the region.
This advisory clearly provides and extra level of detail toenhance decision support tools by
incorporating climate variability and local weather conditions. It clearly also cannot be incorporated
or linked directly to the DSSfor smallholder farmers as it stands. There is still a need for farmers to
analyse this information alongside their present practices and the suggested climate resilient
agriculture practices before they can make informed decisions. As mentioned, this is a process best
undertaken in afacilitated environment and in person.
Collaboration between the two processes is to continue to find the best way to link these two
aspects. For the moment the DSS process will continue to include such climate advisories into the
climate change impact and adaptive strategies workshops at community level.
5.CAPACITY BUILDING
5.1POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
Two postgraduate students are a part of this research process.
NQE DLAMINI- PhD: Learning values through participation in savings groups in Kwazulu-Natal: An
Afrocentriccase study. UKZN_Dept of Education (registered in February2023) and
TEMAKHOLO MATHEBULA –MPhil: The socio-political dynamics influencing farmer adaptation to
climate change in Ozwathini, Kwazulu-Natal.PLAAS_UWC (registered in February 2024
For Nqe Dlamini the following summary of his thesis applies:
Problem statement: Users of savings groups may not be aware that they learn while they participate
in their groups. Thereis a possibility that users unknowingly resolve the tensions between Eurocentric
values and Afrocentric values while they participate in their groups.
Purpose:To explore/understand what values people learn through participation in savings groups and
how they learn these, and how people navigate possible tensions between Eurocentric values and
Afrocentric values.
Objectives:(1) To explore what values people learn through participating in savings groups; (2) To
understand how people learn these values; (3) To understand how people navigate possible tensions
between Eurocentric and Afrocentric values
Data collection: Commenced in February2024.
For Tema Mathebula the following summary of her thesis applies:
Problem statement: In South Africa, the rise in temperatures and instances of extreme weather
conditions have had devastating effects on infrastructure, livestock, and crop yields. These critical
events have intensifiedthe pressure onsmallholder farmers to develop strategies to enhance the
resilience of their farming systems. Research and experience have shownthat approaches to
adaptation and mitigation have been disproportionate and ineffective without an in-depth
understanding of the socio-political processes embedded in communities
Purpose:This study aims to provide insight into how unequal distribution of power and political
processes undermine the ability of smallholder farmers to cope with climate change. It also seeks to
provide a more nuanced understanding of the differentiated impactsof climate change across gender,
caste, age, and ethnicity. Lastly, this study aims to investigate the factors which lead to maladaptation
of climate change interventions in smallholder farming systems.
Political ecology will be used as a theoretical framework for the study.It is underpinned by two
theories, namely, “political economy”, which focuses on the dynamics of power distribution and
productivity; and “ecological analysis” which focuses on environmental factors.
Research questions: What are the existing socio-political dynamics that influence smallholder farmer
adaptation to climate change?
Sub Questions
- What do farmers understand about climate change and its influence on their farming activities?
- What are the existinginstitutional structures for smallholder farmers and how do these influence
adaptation to climate change?
- What are the core values, norms and belief systems and how do they shape the allocation and
distribution of resources?
- What are the major causes of inequality, power imbalances and social injustice in the agricultural
sector and how do these entrench vulnerability?
Data collection: Through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion. To commence in
December 2024.
5.2COMMUNITY LEVELAND ORGANISATIONALTRAINING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
These two aspects have been exhaustive and ongoing and have most recently include First Aid training,
Project management, Veld assessment and Poultry production short courses for staff and one day
learning events on seed saving, nutrition, management of mycotoxins in field crops and development
of conservation agreements at community level.
6.WORK PLAN:JANUARY-FEBRUARY2025
The following broad activities are to be undertaken during this period:
ØFinalization of implementation for the CRA learning groups across three provinces
ØOngoing involvement in CoPs: AN-capacity building and learning, PGS-SA, Northern
Drakensberg collaborative
ØUpdate on postgraduatestudents’progress: Nqe Dlamini (PhD) _UKZN and Temakholo
Mathebula (MPhil)_ UWC.
ØFinalizationof climate resilience monitoring framework and indicator sets, analysis
frameworks and dashboardsand
ØFinalization of themanual for a framework for successful implementation of multi stakeholder
platforms
Table 8: Work plan –January-February2025
WorkplanJan-
Feb 2025
Team
Activities
Jan 25
Feb 25
Submission
Manual for
implementation
of successful
multistakeholder
platforms in
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7.ATTACHMENT:REPORT ON SW CAPE WINTER RAINFALL SEASON2024(APRIL-AUGUST):OVERBERG AND SWARTLAND
Peter Johnston
19 April 2024
CAVEAT:
The author, the producers of the forecasts and their institutions take no responsibility for the accuracy and skill thereof. While great care and effort is
taken to produce and interpret forecasts, there is great uncertainty in the modelling process and since forecasts differ, NOindication is given of which
should be given more credit or validity.
BACKGROUND:
There are 3 seasonal forecasting products that cover South Africa. Each is produced by a different institution, and they comprise the use of General
Circulation Models (also known as Global Climate Modelsor GCMs). 2 forecast providers employ a multi-model ensemble which averages a set of different
models, while one uses a specific model, specifically selected for its skill in this region.
Each institution’s forecasts are presented below for 3 3-month periods, each showing the likelihood of specific probabilities. Each has a slightly different
nuance to the probabilities, so GREAT CARE should be taken to interpret them.
Where possible skill scores (i.e. verification statistics) are provided. These indicate the historical reliability of these forecasts for specific regions during
these seasons.
Most of the forecasts are produced for three categories:
•Above-normal (“wet” – rainfall totals are higher than the 66thpercentile of the climatological record)
•Below-normal (“dry” – rainfall totals are lower than the 33rdpercentile of the climatological record)
•Normal or Near-normal (“average” rainfall between the 33rdand 66thpercentile of the climatological record)
Probabilistic forecasts can help users understand risks and opportunities in order to make more informed decisions.
The seasonal rainfall forecast uses probabilities (% chance) of only the most likely outcome for Below-, Near-, or Above-normal (B, N or A). The
probabilities shown are always less than 100% - so there is no absolute certainty that the less favoured outcome will not occur. For example, if the forecast
claims a 75% of below-normal rainfall totals for a season, it means that 1 out of 4 times, it will notdevelop into a dry period.
The nature of a probabilistic forecast implies that the less likely outcomes are always possible. In fact, for the probabilistic forecasts to be considered
reliable, the less likely outcomes will, and must, occasionally occur.
FORECASTS
1.International Research institute (IRI)
2.SA Weather Service (SAWS)
3.University of Pretoria (UP)
FORECAST1: IRI
SUMMARY: Aslightly enhanced probabilityfor Below-Normal precipitationis forecast for Overbergand Swartland regions of South Africa
forApr/May/Jun, May/Jun/Jul and Jul/Aug/Sep.For Jun/Jul/Augno significant variation from the climatology is forecast.
DISCUSSION:
The greencolour that is displayed over the Overbergand Swartlandfor Apr/May/Jun, May/Jun/Juland Jul/Aug/Sepindicate the most likely
category of rainfall probability is a 40% chance of BELOW NORMAL. This means that of the 3 possible categories (AN/N/BN), the BN category’s
probabilityis the highest. It is, of course, important to understand that there are no percentages given for N and AN (theoretically there could be any split
of the remaining 60% in these 2 categories, but the indication is that neither would be over 35%). For Jun/Jul/Augthere is no likelihood of any particular
category being dominant.
INTERPRETATION
This forecast favours a drier than normalseasonoverall, but the likelihoodof 40 % probability ofdrier conditions is not much higher than climatological
odds of (331/3/331/3/331/3)
FORECAST2: SAWS
SUMMARY: The Overberg and Swartland regions of South Africa areexpected to experience Below-Normalrainfall during the period
Apr/May/Jun, May/Jun/Jul, and Jun/Jul/Aug
.
April-May-June (AMJ; left) May-June-July (MJJ; right) and Jun-July-Aug seasonal precipitation predictions. Maps indicate the highest probability from three
probabilistic categories namely Above-Normal, Near-Normal and Below-Normal
DISCUSSION:
The brown squares indicate the “more likely” probability of Below Normal rainfallfor the Overbergand Swartlandregionsfor all 3 seasons. This
forecast shows the highest probability being for “below normal” conditions. SAWS uses a multi-model ensemble and is careful to note that the El Niño-
Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is currently still in an El Niñostate and the ENSO forecast indicates that it will most likely ease to neutral conditionsduring
autumn and winter. Anyinfluence of ENSO during the autumn and winter months on South African rainfall is relatively unprovenand thus cannot be
used as a helpful predictor.
INTERPRETATION
This forecast favours BelowNormal to Normalrainfall in autumn and winter for the Overbergand Swartlandregionsin the April to August period,
but the significance of the likelihood ofdryconditions is not given quantitatively.
No skill scores of reliability are given.
FORECAST3: UP
SUMMARY: Below Normalrainfall outcomes are suggested for the AMJ, over the Overbergand Swartlandregionsduring the autumn and winter
rainfall season. This forecast uses a single General Circulation model.
April-May-June 2024 (AMJ; above), May-June-July 2024 (MJJ, below) and June-July-August (JJA, below) seasonal precipitation prediction. Maps indicate the
highest probability from probabilistic categories Above-Normal and Below-Normal. Percentages indicate the most likely probability for each grid square. The
ROC maps on the right show verification scores for the predictions for each category, above and below. The higher the ROC score for each pixel, the more
skilful is the prediction on the main map.
DISCUSSION:
The colours of the squares indicate the “most likely” probability of rainfall for the Overbergand Swartlandregions. This forecast shows of the
probability of rainfall for the April-May and June-Augustseasons (light to dark orange), between 45-55% probability of Below Normalrainfall for the
Overbergfor the 3-monthly forecast periods.For the Swartlandthe forecast displays a 35-40% probability of Below Normal rainfall for April-June but
can give no information regarding the other 3 month periods.
The Verification mapson the right-hand side display ROC1scores, an indicator of skill.:
•ROC Area (Below-Normal) – The forecast system’s ability to discriminate dry seasons from the rest of the seasons over a 32-year test period.
ROC values should be higher than 0.5 for a forecast system to be considered skilful.
•ROC Area (Above-Normal) – The forecast system’s ability to discriminate wet seasons from the rest of the seasons over a 32-year test period.
ROC values should be higher than 0.5 for a forecast system to be considered skilful.
INTERPRETATION
The Overbergand Swartlandregionsregion shows AVERAGE to LOW skill for BelowNormalrainfall for the AMJ, MJJ and JJA 3-month periods.
CONCLUSION:
Since the 3 forecasts are MOSTLY in agreement, it is tempting to predict aBELOWNORMALrainfall outcome in the
AutumnandWinterseasons for the Overberg (and in Autumnfor Swartland) regions.The IRI and SAWS
forecasts rely on multi-models, which, on balance, should thus be more skilful (an average of many forecasts could give a
more realistic outcome), but, historically, SAWS forecasts have not shown significant skill for the SW Cape (this was
highlighted during the 2015-2018 drought). On the other hand, the UP forecast, while based on only a single model, shows
evidence of higher historical skill, which gives it an advantage over the others. The OVERALL conclusion is that there is a
greater possibility of a Below Normal winter rainfall season than there is of receiving Normal or Above
Normal rainfall.This is not a guarantee (the calculated skill of the forecast is not high) and does also not mean that
there will not be significant individual rainfall events during the season.
1ROC stands for Relative Operating Characteristics and is a skill score measure of hit rate vs false alarm rate
RAINFALL FIGURES: these long-term averagefigures are provided as context for the expected season.
Caledon
Swellendam
Malmesbury
Month
Average
Month
Average
Month
Average
Jan
15
Jan
55
Jan
9
Feb
21
Feb
62
Feb
7
Mar
26
Mar
72
Mar
7
Apr
64
MAM 145mm
Apr
68
MAM 201mm
Apr
27
MAM 80mm
May
55
AMJ 186mm
May
61
AMJ 178mm
May
46
AMJ 143mm
Jun
67
MJJ 186mm
Jun
49
MJJ 161mm
Jun
70
MJJ 181mm
Jul
64
JJA 186mm
Jul
51
JJA 163mm
Jul
65
JJA 193mm
Aug
55
JAS 150mm
Aug
63
JAS 171mm
Aug
58
JAS 158mm
Sep
31
Sep
57
Sep
35
Oct
40
Oct
71
Oct
18
Nov
17
Nov
64
Nov
12
Dec
26
Dec
53
Dec
15
Total
481
Total
726
Total
368
186mm