Climate change has been identified as one of several factors that pose a threat to food security. This is primarily due to the risk it presents to the country’s biodiversity and the continued productivity of the country’s agricultural sector.

Prof Emma Archer, a researcher in the University of Pretoria’s Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, has been studying the effects of climate change on biodiversity and sustainable agriculture in two distinct regions in South Africa. These are the Waterberg Biosphere in Limpopo and the Eastern Karoo in the Northern Cape. Prof Archer is also a former Co-chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services and is recognised as one of the world’s 50 leading biodiversity and climate change experts.

Photo: Julia Fiander_unsplash

According to Prof Archer, South Africa has an amazing wealth of biodiversity ecosystem services and is one of the last places in the world to have such big assemblages of large mammals. However, as South Africa is already a water-scarce country, it is important to be proactive in terms of anticipating the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, which will have a major impact on food security.

Focusing on sustainable agricultural methods and increasing the use of species that are hardy and have a reduced vulnerability to changing climatic conditions will contribute to a sustainable global future. The encroaching impact of climate change has already been evident in the drought that was recently experienced in the Western Cape, and the impact it had on the country’s wheat and apple production sectors.

Prof Archer believes that genetic diversity can make agriculture more resistant to climate change, particularly by making use of indigenous, heritage livestock breeds, such as Nguni cattle, which are better adapted to Africa’s harsh climate. While these animals are probably more popularly known for their attractive hides, their resilience in conditions of reduced rainfall and higher temperatures makes them an attractive option to meet the animal protein needs of a growing population.

Photo: Matt Palmer_unsplash

Indigenous cattle breeds are present in the well-developed commercial sector, as well as the developing South African livestock sector. They have been included in several research studies, most of which have focused on their production and adaptive potential. They have consequently been found to be more resilient to local environmental conditions than imported breeds and have the potential to improve the productivity of the small-scale production sector, and to contribute to the alleviation of poverty.

Interdisciplinary research in collaboration with the Department of Animal Science, as well as the Faculty of Veterinary Science, is anticipated to deliver even greater insights into the types of agricultural activity that will do better in conditions of drought, which is essential to reduce hunger on a continent that is characterised by a growing food insecure population.