**2. Nature of drought in the northern cape, South Africa**

Despite the differences in the definition of drought by different researchers and scholars, they all agree that drought is a prolonged absence of moisture in a specific environment that affects livestock and plants [3, 11, 14–16]. According to Miyan [17], droughts vary from region to region and the least developed countries have become

#### **Figure 1.**

*Different categories of droughts and their development. Source: (derived from Peter, 53, Van loon, 54 Stahl 55).*

the worst affected. According to *Agri SA 'status report on the current drought crisis* [18], the severe drought has fastened its grip on the agricultural sector resulting in.


The description of each type is short, simple, and brief for a better understanding of the nature of drought in the Northern Cape as shown in **Figure 1**.

The current study is modelled after the study by Wisner *et al*., [9] who conceptualised drought as a trigger event that causes damage by exploiting underlying social vulnerabilities within populations exposed to its effects. There are four main types of droughts experienced in the Northern Cape namely: a) meteorological drought, b) agricultural drought, c) hydrological drought, and d) socio-economic drought. According to Bang *et al.,* [19], these four types of droughts correspond to the levels of severity and the level of severity is determined by climatic conditions prevailing during the corresponding period. In the Northern Cape Province, annual rainfall varies from 200 to 400 mm per annum and its distribution across the province is uneven. The Western region of the Province receives winter rainfall and currently is experiencing droughts while the eastern regions receive summer rainfall.

#### **3. Socio-economic impact of drought on society**

Northern Cape economy relies mostly on farming and more people are employed in the agricultural sector, which depends entirely on precipitation for production. Drought has negative impacts on the welfare and employment of farmers, farmworkers, and their families. Farm income is dependent on the quality and quantity of livestock and crop produced at any given time and continued drought is hazardous to yields. Jordaan et al. [20] noted that socio-economic drought affects people's lives in terms of their behaviour and options such as water rationing and increased water pricing. According to Wilhite socio-economic drought is dependent on the impact of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural droughts on the supply and demand of agricultural goods and services.

Socio-economic drought occurs when demand for economic goods exceeds the supply caused by related shortfalls in the water supply. Socio-economic droughts differ markedly from the other types of droughts because it reflects the relationship between supply and demand commodities such as livestock forage, water, and hydroelectricity that is dependent on precipitation and supply varies as a function of precipitation or water availability [21]. Small-scale farmers are mostly affected by socio-economic drought because they are highly dependent on farming for their social being and economic livelihood.

Employment on farms depends on the profitability of farm businesses and farm labours both seasonal and permanent are influenced by farm margins. During drought there is a remarkable loss of expected return from all farming enterprises and this argument is supported by Eslamian *et al.*, [3] who defined socio-economic drought as loss of average or expected return which is measured by economic and social indicators. Socio-economic drought is different from other forms of drought since its occurrence depends on spatiotemporal supply and demand of agricultural products.

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

According to Van Zyl [16], there are alternatives and practical definitions for drought types usually experienced by farmers in the Province due to its unique geographical location. These include false drought where rainfall is below the long-term average, but due to overgrazing of the veld, fodder supply becomes prematurely depleted and giving the impression of prevailing drought; premature drought where a chronic drought situation is aggravated by overgrazing resulting in a premature declaration. In many instances, the adjoining farms may differ widely in intensity as a result of veldt management practices. There is also prolonged drought where for months, high intensity of livestock is maintained, and the result is more or less chronic food shortage even after good rains have fallen as plants become severely damaged. It is also possible that areas that have been declared as drought-stricken do not recover after good rains and a few months later the drought could even get worse.

Green drought occurs when excessive grazing pressures are maintained in semiarid periods and this causes food shortages even though the vegetation is appearing green and soil moisture reserves are favourable. It can also occur where natural causes like rain showers during drought promote a short spell of green growth but not enough to break the drought. A green drought can also occur where the insect (locusts, Karoo, and commando caterpillars) severely attacks the plant and deplete the fodder to such a degree that it takes the appearance of a drought situation. There is thus a shortage of fodder in spite of favourable circumstances. Finally, financial drought in which farmers exert much pressure on the government to declare drought disaster to obtain financial assistance in order to improve their cash flow.

#### **Figure 2.**

*Drought types, causal factors, and their usual sequence of occurrence. Source: National Drought Mitigation Centre. (2005).*


#### **Table 1.**

*Drought categories and related impact in the northern cape.*

Therefore, a region can be declared drought-stricken even though drought does not prevail as shown in **Figure 2**. The figure shows different droughts, causal factors, and the usual sequence of occurrence. Climatic factors like temperature, rainfall, evapotranspiration, and soil water deficiency are attributes that increase the vulnerability of small-scale farmers to drought in the Northern Cape Province.

The impacts of drought in relation to the different drought categories have also been determined. The table below indicates the impacts of droughts experienced by small-scale farmers in the Province who are economically, socially, and environmentally affected by drought. The table reveals various form of droughts has different impacts on small-scale farmers and **Table 1** shows the drought category as well as an impact category in the Province.

#### **4. Factors enhancing small-scale farmers' vulnerability**

The preceding section presented the description of drought, forms, and type as well as the concept of drought. This section focuses on addressing the central questions and objectives which is based on the existing management framework to analyse the social, economic, and environmental factors enhancing small-scale farmers' vulnerability to drought in the province. In this study, vulnerability is seen as a set of conditions and processes resulting from the physical, social, and economic challenges caused by persistent drought in the Northern Cape province of South Africa**.**

Varying degrees of vulnerability to drought conditions occur within the agricultural sector based on the size and nature of one's farming operation. In the case of South Africa, small-scale and communal farmers have proven to be more vulnerable to droughts given their concentration in less favourable climatic zones, their lack of resources and reliance on their own production for house food security [22].

Khoshnodiffer, *et al.* [23] in identifying social factors responsible for small-scale farmers' vulnerability to drought in the Northern Cape found; level of literacy, education, peace and security, access to human rights, social equity, traditional values, beliefs, and organisational systems while those causing economic vulnerability are poverty, gender, level of debt and access to credit. According to Creswell

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

[24] opined that vulnerability to disasters like drought depends on the social, cultural, economic, and political environment. Poverty and its complex dimensions, discrimination, lack of opportunities for acquiring and developing skills and capabilities, lack of access and control over basic necessities including production resources, decent living conditions, livelihoods, and adequate incomes are the causes of vulnerabilities for millions of East Asians.

Madzwamuse [25] argues that climate change also enhances small-scale farmers' vulnerability to drought in the province and any vulnerability analysis must consider the social, economic, and institutional factors that favour large-scale commercial farmers to the neglect of small-scale farmers even though they operate under the same climatic conditions. Khoshnodiffer *et al* [23] are of the view that the identification of drought vulnerability factors is an essential step for planning drought mitigation management strategies. The current study intends not only to identify drought vulnerability factors but to test these factors (economic, social, technical, and environmental) and how they impact small-scale farmers in Northern Cape.

Eslamian et al., [3] stated that factors governing drought vulnerability may be natural (meteorological, ecological, and hydrological) while anthropogenic factors include socio-economic and land use parameters. According to United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, there exist four groups of vulnerability factors that cause small-scale farmers' vulnerability to drought. These are; physical factors that describe the exposure of vulnerable elements within a region; economic factors which describe the economic resources of individuals, populations groups, and communities; social factors, which describe non-economic factors that determine the well-being of individuals, population groups, and communities, such as the level of education, security, access to basic services, human rights, good governance, and environmental factors which describe the state of the environment within a region the small-scale farmer operate.

Jordaan *et al.* [20] are of the view that small scale farmers in Northern Cape are constantly affected by dry periods and had requested government support during dry periods. The impact of drought and vulnerability by small-scale farmers varies in degrees from place to place due to variation in climatic conditions, land use pattern/land cover, agricultural practices, social structures, and financial support. Eslamain [3] supported that drought vulnerability is closely associated with the risk and resilience of society to drought and therefore, the assessment of drought vulnerability is an important component for proper water resources management and sustainable development. Furthermore, vulnerability to drought by small-scale farmers is a function of the character, magnitude, and rate of climate variation to which the small-scale farmers are exposed to their adaptive capacity [26].
