**5. Coping capacity of small scale to drought vulnerability**

According to Yameogo [27], coping capacity can be defined as the means by which people or organisations use available resources and the ability to face adverse consequences that could lead to a disaster. In general, this involves managing resources, both in normal times as well as during crises or adverse conditions. The strength of coping capacities usually builds resilience to withstand the effects of natural and human-induced hazards. Farmers will sometimes resort to old age traditional and indigenous knowledge of coping with drought. Rainfall harvesting with cement tanks and catchment areas develop for water storage.

Farmers sometimes will move to areas where there is water and vegetation. Nomadic farmers are common in Northern Cape. They move along the Orange river where grazing and water are available. They sleep next to their flock and will move once grazing is depleted. During good rainy days, reservoirs are allowed to be filled with water and are closed with dexterity and art to be used during the drought period. Nobody is allowed to draw water from the well until the onset of drought. Maize, sorghum, and other drought-resistant crops are planted, harvested, stored, and preserved using old skills. During drought, this storage or silo (sefalana in Setswana) is opened and good food is obtained from this storage. This small silo is built by a specialist in making mud houses and the design is such that stored foodstuff does not get decomposed.

According to Roos *et al.* [28], there are reciprocal interactions between older people and drought challenged environments. Through these reciprocal interactions and in this particular context, traditional bodies of knowledge and skills have been developed to assist older persons to cope with drought for instance older people made appropriate adjustments or implemented decisions based on their interactions with the environment and resorted to conservative, stockpiling and animal grazing patterns, vegetation, water conservation, use of plants for medical purposes, and animal feeds.

Small scale farmers are vulnerable to economic, social, and environmental effects of drought and their adaptability or coping capacity differ according to their experience of drought and mitigation ability. There is a correlation between strong financial position and coping ability among small-scale farmers. Farmers who have more money in the bank can buy more feeds or production inputs and lessen the burden of relying on state assistance. The other factor is drought preparedness and pre-disaster planning. If the farmer did his homework way in advance he can cope well when drought has occurred. Farmers normally stockpile feeds during years of bumper production, fill the storage with unused fodder and ensure that fodder banks are up and running. Their products fetch lower prices at markets due to low quality and quantity during droughts. Prices are high for production inputs like fertilisers, feeds, medications, fuel, and replacement stock. Farmers must be available for training and capacity building on drought and its vulnerability.

In order to cope well with drought vulnerability, farmers must be candid enough to do self-introspection, own lifestyle audits; reduction in the expenditure of nonessentials like clothes and eating out in big restaurants, hotels, guesthouses. Coping capacity for drought is determined by analysing the capacity of farmers, farmworkers, and rural towns to cope with droughts. Factors considered for equating coping capacity include (i) land ownership, ii) on-farm diversification to provide own feed and fodder during drought, (iii) government support during drought, (iv) institutions support during drought, (v) alternative source of income, and nonagricultural entrepreneurship opportunities [8]. According to Shiferaw *et al*., [29], ex-post risk coping strategies are designed to prevent a shortfall in consumption when income drops below the required level as a result of climatic conditions. This includes a reduction in the selling of food, reduced consumption, and increased borrowing to higher rates of seasonal out-migration default on loans.

Drought also affects farming towns and different municipalities in Northern Cape very severely; integrated development plans (IDP) which include drought management plans to large extent increase the coping ability of farmers against drought. During drought, farmers are assisted with fodder supply and their intergovernmental cooperation. For example, the department of social service will help with clothes, food, counselling, while the department of health with coping capacity by the provision of medicine and the department of water affairs will provide water with tanks [30]. Typically, main water sensitive urban design (WSUD) activities and strategies include the following, stormwater/drainage management, re-use of water, demand reduction techniques, and greenroom installation, with each main activity having its own set of sub-activities. Water demand management

#### *Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100606*

(WDM) or portable water demand reduction techniques ensures that water is reduced through leaks, reduced wastewater flows, and better awareness of consumers of the environmental and financial value of water [31].

The Disaster Management Act and National Disaster Management Framework [32] provide the legislative and policy frameworks for national and provincial drought management, mitigation practices, and strategies. Other legislative mandates are the strategic plan, Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (CARA), and National Disaster Management Act Framework (NDMF). Drought management in Northern Cape is everyone's responsibility. Drought can only be effectively control the implementation of the mitigation strategies is approached from an integrated strategic position taking cognisance of location specifics. Research is required in view of the vulnerability of small-scale vegetable farmers to drought in the Northern Cape as the existing policies and risk management plans adapted from the Department of Agriculture, forestry and fisheries [4] frameworks appear inadequate.

The preceding subheadings discuss the vulnerability of small-scale farmers to drought disasters in the Northern Cape. Vulnerability factors like unemployment, low income, poverty, population migration, change of food and eating pattern and loss of dignity were discussed. Surely, socio-economic drought vulnerability will be with farmers until precipitation fall and other mitigation strategies and policies are fully implemented. Northern Cape is affected by climate change which is characterised by global warming resulting in high atmospheric moisture losses. Evaporation and transpiration result in extreme water losses and this affects fauna and flora on a big scale. Climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable periods of time [33].

Climate change according to the National Climate Change Response, White Paper is the trend in change of the earth's general weather conditions as a result of an average rise in the temperature of the earth's surface often referred to as global warming. (The Government of the Republic of South Africa, 2011). Significant changes in extreme weather events such as heatwaves, very hot days, high fire danger days, and dry spells are likely to increase. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of many types of extreme events including floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, and wildfires [34]. The consequences of increased temperature change in rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and changes in biodiversity will have a significant influence on national economies, rural livelihoods, and development in general. According to Madzwamuse [25], Africa is said to be the most vulnerable continent to the impact of climate change as a result of national economies depending on natural resources.

• Agricultural production is projected to fall by 50% due to a reduction in precipitation and an increase in temperature while most African states will be faced with water scarcity and stress by 2050. Madzwamuse [25] and Hassan [35] stated that the impact of climate change in the South African agricultural sector will differ in different farming systems. Dry land smallholder producers will be affected mostly compared to irrigation and large-scale/commercial producers.

Northern Cape is one of the driest Province in the Republic of South Africa and it is also vulnerable to other disasters like veldt fires during the winter season when vegetation is extremely dry. Unsustainable use of land and other resources increase the vulnerability of farmers of the Northern Cape. Land degradation often stems from the nexus between poverty and lack of capacity to invest in more sustainable

agricultural practices and improve land use patterns. The vulnerability to agricultural drought means that the extent of agriculture potential sensibility to the drought threat. Agricultural research on the vulnerability to agricultural drought is of great significance to mitigate drought losses and guarantee Provincial food security [31].

The economic, social, and environmental impacts of drought are huge in Northern Cape and the national costs and losses incurred threaten to undermine the wider economic and development gains made in the last few decades in the region. There is an urgent need to reduce the vulnerability of countries to climate variability and the threats posed by climate change [13]. Drought events and the magnitude of agricultural drought losses indicate the continuing vulnerability of the country to agricultural drought. Drought is among the most multifaceted and least understood of all natural hazards. Climatic variability adversely affects food production in two ways—it leads to low production, which translates into limited access, both physical and economic food. The exposure of agriculture to drought and heavy precipitation threatens food security and exacerbates poverty among smallholder farmers [36].

The impact of the drought on livestock production (beef and sheep) in the Northern Cape can be felt by the small scale at markers. Feedlots are under pressure due to shortages of maize products and high input prices and more costs will push up the price of A-grade beef prices. With good rainfall in the near future, Northern Cape producers can begin to rebuild their herds. An increase in milk prices can also cause the slaughter of cattle from this sector to decrease, putting further pressure on the factory meat prices (Agri growing greatness.co.za). In the livestock industry, below normal rainfall has almost depleted natural grazing veld, placing feed supplies for the upcoming winter season in a precarious position [18].

Southern African countries experience a dry season in winter, limiting forage. This means that any delays in the rains obviously prolong the winter period, which thus increases food shortages for livestock. Such a scenario results in high mortality of livestock, especially cattle. Losing livestock could increase poverty and negatively affect rural people's livelihoods and food security [37]. According to Nkomo [38], the impact of drought on small-scale farmers is devastating as water allocation for irrigation to farmers has been cut back in the region. The cutbacks have had a direct impact on the incomes of those farmers. Small-scale farmers are more vulnerable compared to large-scale commercial farmers because they have no insurance and savings which may serve as a mitigation strategy.

The following vulnerabilities are used to measure or assess the degree of vulnerabilities to drought disasters of small-scale farmers in Northern Cape, South Africa. Economic, social, and environmental drought vulnerabilities assessment for Northern Cape small-scale farmers. This model was proposed by Jordaan *et al.* [20] to assess drought disaster risk for Northern Cape. Social factors are related to social issues such as levels of literacy, education, the existence of peace and security, access to human rights, social equity, traditional values, beliefs, and organisational systems and economic factors are related to issues of poverty, gender, level of debt, and access to credits. Vulnerability assessment provides a framework for identifying the social, economic, technical, and environmental causes of drought impacts [23].

The identification of drought vulnerability indicators of small-scale farmers in the Northern Cape is an essential step for planning drought mitigation management. The disaster risk assessment methodology as stipulated in the Disaster Management Act (Act 57 0f 2002) was used as the framework for drought risk assessment in the NC. Stage one consisted of the framework for main risk factors, the factor components and examples of indicators considered for drought risk assessment in this research. Various frameworks, models, approaches, and equations are used to assess different drought vulnerabilities; emerging farmers are exposed to in Northern Cape.

*Revising the National Framework for the Management of Drought (NFMD) to Enhance… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.100606*
