Abstract
Climate change remains one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century. Despite extensive efforts to address its impacts, developing effective adaptation and coping strategies remains a significant challenge, particularly for developing countries already grappling with multiple socio-economic challenges. Agriculture, which is the backbone of many developing economies, including those in South Africa’s rural areas, and it supports food security, livelihoods, and employment. However, agriculture and climate change are deeply interlinked, as the sector is both a contributor to and a victim of changing climatic conditions. The situation has worsened in recent years, with 2024 marking one of the most devastating years for global agricultural losses attributed to climate change. African countries are disproportionately affected due to their high vulnerability and limited adaptive capacity. This imbalance hinders progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). South Africa, ranked 111th globally with an SDG index score of 64.1, demonstrates moderate advancement but continues to face significant challenges in eradicating poverty, achieving zero hunger, and fostering sustainable communities. Addressing these gaps requires effective climate change adaptation strategies that strengthen resilience while promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
In Africa, climate adaptation has mainly been guided by scientific knowledge, with limited practical use of indigenous knowledge systems despite their international recognition. This study, therefore, seeks to identify and analyse the indigenous indicators used by farmers in the Hlanganani South Circuit to adapt to climate change and to explore pathways for integrating indigenous and scientific knowledge systems to enhance adaptive capacity. To achieve this, forty-one semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted across six villages, complemented by an extensive literature review and thematic content analysis. The key findings reveal that: (1) farmers in the study area are actively implementing diverse adaptation strategies; (2) irrigation is the most common strategy, used by all participants (100%); (3) most farmers already practise a hybrid of indigenous and scientific knowledge despite limited access to resources and information; and (4) even those not currently integrating the two systems express a strong willingness to do so. The study concludes that combining indigenous and scientific knowledge can improve climate adaptation, strengthen resilience, support rural livelihoods, and advance progress toward the SDGs