Women in agriculture in KZN South Africa trust in COP27 climate adaptation policies to weather the storm
Farmers whose lands were destroyed by the floods in Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN), South Africa earlier this year are struggling to get back on track and are pinning their hopes on COP27 climate adaptation strategies to shield themselves from projected future occurrences.
In April 2022 KZN province was battered by heavy rainfall that lasted two days and led to devastating flooding that claimed the lives of 489 people, abolished 4,000 houses, and left 40,000 residents displaced.
Experts have warned that increases in the number of rainfall days are likely to increase intense storms and flooding events across the province.
The upcoming COP27 Summit to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November 2022 is highly meaningful to rural farming communities in developing countries across the African continent, as its resolutions could one day lead to gender equality through climate justice.
The Global Gender Gap Report 2022, stresses that gender parity is not improving and it is women who suffer the most. This means that COP27 leaders need to prioritize their focus on areas of women’s empowerment in the context of climate change, the environment, and disaster risk reduction.
The extreme downpours of rainfall on the South African east coast province in April this year caused extensive damage to 4,305 hectares of cane, placing more than 275,000 tons of sugarcane at risk, and affecting about 541 sugar cane growers, where more than half of these were small-scale farmers.
KZN is home to Africa’s most active general cargo port- Durban Harbour, and around 75% of sugar is marketed and exported to the Southern African Customs Union and markets in USA and Asia.
The sugar cane industry produces an estimated average of 2.2 million tons of sugar per season and comprises 22 949 registered sugarcane growers farming in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
Vice-Chairperson at SA Canegrowers, Kiki Mzoneli, said damages on farms were estimated at R333 million in cane losses and fields that will require replanting.
Mzoneli indicated that an additional R51 million worth of farming infrastructure was damaged during the flood.
“The worst of the impact has been felt by Small-Scale Growers who have faced the biggest challenge as a result of the loss in revenue due to the floods.
“Gender inequality remains a problem globally, and this is true in our country and our industry,” said Mzoneli.
Climate change is expected to impact the global production of sugarcane, primarily in developing countries due to low adaptive capacity, high vulnerability to natural hazards, and poor forecasting systems and mitigating strategies.
“…Women are less likely to have the means to shield themselves and their families from the consequences of climate change.
“As a matter of justice and to improve the quality of our collective decision-making in addressing the climate crisis, it is essential that women’s voices are heard as we work together to address the threat of climate change,” said Mzoneli.
Despite the challenges faced by women farmers such as a lack of access to land, funding, and limited access to technological advancements, females operating in KZN’s agricultural sector are still reeling from the floods.
Farmers said that they are looking forward to hearing what solutions will come out of this year’s COP27 with adaptation measures to the impact of climate change.
Samkelisiwe Sithole whose poultry farm was completely ravaged by the flooding operates from Molweni- a village 35 km outside of Durban, said the biggest challenge is that women have to work harder to prove their worth in the male-dominated sector.
“It was very difficult. I had to restart from scratch, rebuild the house, and purchase new stock. I received minimal donations including feed for egg layer chickens, and I am still paying for everything else.
“I feel it is important to educate other countries that still take climate change lightly, and push for those with the powers to assist countries like ours to fight the crisis,” Sithole said.
Minenhle Zondi of Adis Agric Enterprise, whose farm operates in Pietermaritzburg, said that climate change policies were pivotal in meeting the needs of women most affected by climate catastrophes.
“This season we were forced to plant less crop due to the damage caused by the floods. I am not able to meet my demands from the market,” said Zondi.
Zondi said she had to lay off workers because large areas of her farms were destroyed, resulting in a more stringent budget for her farming operations.
CEO of Maliyeza Pty Ltd, Siphindile Sibiya, a crop farmer who supplies vegetables to local markets, said that operating in the aftermath of the flooding has proven strenuous on her business.
Sibiya urged COP27 Summit leaders in November to equip farmers against future occurrences of floods to secure a sustainable agricultural model.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Report Six Working Group 1 (AR6 WG1), states that the benefits of evading social and economic damage through immediate and effective mitigation will minimize the costs of adaptation.
“South Africa will be faced with tremendous challenges towards contributing fairly to global mitigation, whilst taking advantage of new investment opportunities to help ensure that its own transition away from fossil fuels is a just transition.”
The report further posits that South African science and technological innovation systems should be key partners in these challenges.
Addressing the climate change Climate Health Africa Network for Collaboration and Engagement Network in June 2022, South African Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries Barbara Creecy said, “by 2036 we hope to have ensured that 28% of the land and sea are under protection.”
Creecy highlighted that intervention such as finance, technology, and capacity building from developed countries directly determines the ability of developing countries to improve and implement ambitious mitigation and adaptation targets.
“African countries have already experienced widespread loss and damage as a result of human-induced climate change. With increasing global warming, human and natural systems will reach adaptation limits,” warned Creecy.
Since wealthy nations admitted to their shortfall of mobilizing US $100 billion annually for climate finance by 2020 meant to assist vulnerable nations to deal with climate change, global leaders at this year’s COP27 will have to work on ensuring that finances are directed to the countries and the rural women who need it the most.
“Developing countries need access to scaled up levels of new, additional and predictable grant and concessional finance which undoubtedly could be deployed effectively to support both mitigation and adaptation actions,” Creecy said.
In his message to the “Regional forums on Climate Initiatives to Finance Climate Action and the SDGs” earlier this month, COP27 President Designate and Egypt Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry emphasized that climate finance in developing countries is central to achieving the Paris Agreement objectives.
“To this end, there is an urgent need to unlock climate finance through the massive mobilization of public and private finance for climate action at the local, national, and regional levels across all themes of climate action,” Shoukry said. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
