Bongani Ncube

Cape Peninsula University of Technology | CPUT · Centre for Water and Sanitation Research

Drought is one of the most significant disasters affecting farm productivity in South Africa, with the Western Cape Province among the most affected areas. Smallholder farmers usually suffer the most due to limited resources. The study identified agricultural water use coping and adaptation strategies adopted by both crop and livestock smallholder...

The chapter gives a brief history of water resource management in South Africa, including how indigenous communities lost access to the resource. The country has developed policies and legislation to preserve indigenous knowledge, and funding has also been set aside for indigenous knowledge research. However, a few examples of indigenous knowledge...

Agriculture is threatened by ever increasing temperatures and this trend is predicted to continue for the near and distant future. The negative impact of rising temperatures on agri-food systems is also compounded by the erratic and highly variable rainfall in most parts of southern Africa. Minimum and maximum temperatures’ variability and trend an...

The authors would like to make the following corrections to their published paper [...]

Soil water availability is one of the major constraints limiting crop productivity under semi-arid conditions in sub-Saharan Africa. Crop models are tools that can be used to explain and predict the effect of improved technologies on runoff and soil water availability, and their impact on crop productivity. The study hypothesized that minimum tilla...

The recent 2015 to 2018 drought that hit South Africa negatively affected agricultural communities, the worst being smallholder farmers who generally lack livelihood resources. The study assessed the characteristics of smallholder farmers in two districts in the Western Cape. It explored the roles and effectiveness of public and private sector exte...

Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla), a popular leafy vegetable grown mainly for its ease of production and nutritional content, is normally used as a good source of microminerals iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn). Improving plant uptake of Fe and Zn could assist in reducing micromineral deficiencies in humans, which are a global problem. A greenhouse p...

Smallholder maize and wheat production systems are characterized by high drudgery. On-farm trials were run for three seasons in Ethiopia. The study assessed the effect of 2 WT direct seeding and growing season on (1) soil quality, and (2) maize and wheat productivity, energy and protein gains, and gross margins, on smallholder farms in Ethiopia. Fo...

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) and Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla) are important vegetables for food and nutrition in many parts of the world. Like many other crops, vegetable production is affected by poor soil fertility and shortages of irrigation water. Climate change-related drought has led to shortages of irrigation wat...

One of the dilemmas facing the post-Apartheid government in South Africa is the shortage of housing, often expressing itself in the rapid increase of informal settlements, especially in urban townships. The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to examine key impediments to the effective distribution of low-income housing with the Delft Sym...

The increase in global food demand imposes pressure on agricultural soils, leading to soil fertility decline, particularly in African countries. Organic soil conditioners have been used to improve soil fertility although they are not stable and decompose with time. Zeolite is a stable inorganic material that is gaining popularity as a soil conditio...

Water insecurity is one of the factors affecting agricultural production, espe-cially in the smallholder farming sector in South Africa. The review focusedon factors that influence water security in smallholder farming systems inSouth Africa and also proposed possible solutions to improve the watersecurity status for smallholder farmers. A search o...

Disasters such as the 2015–2018 drought in South Africa usually negatively impact agricultural water, especially in smallholder farming systems. This study assessed the availability of irrigation water, performance of irrigation infrastructure, and water governance systems in Genadendal, Western Cape, with a focus on smallholder farmers. Data for s...

Disasters such as the 2015-2018 drought in South Africa usually negatively impact agricultural water, especially in smallholder farming systems. This study assessed the availability of irrigation water, performance of irrigation infrastructure, and water governance systems in Genadendal, Western Cape, with a focus on smallholder farmers. Data for s...

This study emanated from the challenges experienced during the transformation of Irrigation Boards to Water User Associations. Among many others, these challenges have been exacerbated by several factors such as the slow pace of land, agrarian and water allocation reforms, and the difficulties of achieving the required representativity on Managemen...

The choice of cover crop (CC) species and their growth termination stage is crucial to optimize their benefits. Field experiments were carried out at two sites (Nietvoorbij and Bien donne) in the Western Cape, from 2017 to 2018. This study examined the: (i) Effect of two termination stages (vegetative and flowering) on the chemical composition (C,...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented socio-economic changes, ushering in a “new (ab)normal” way of living and human interaction. The water sector was not spared from the effects of the pandemic, a period in which the sector had to adapt rapidly and continue providing innovative water and sanitation solutions. This study unpacks and interroga...

The South African agricultural sector has experienced various transformation processes over the past 25 years, from a predominantly white commercial sector to a black focused sector with an emphasis on smallholder farming. The government is committed to supporting the smallholder farming sector through interventions that include land reform and acc...

Vegetables are essential components in human diets because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fibre. There is a growing interest in human nutrition enhancement through vegetable consumption to reduce micro mineral deficiencies, especially in households with low buying power. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the ef...

Extension services are usually one of the first respondents to assist farmers during disaster periods such as droughts. However, multiple organisations and institutions respond with different support services to smallholder farmers during disaster periods with minimum coordination, rendering such services ineffective. This study aimed at assessing...

Smallholder farmers are vulnerable and hardest hit by droughts in Africa. One of the main causes of the increased vulnerability is limited access to resources resulting in limited drought preparedness. The heterogeneous nature of smallholder farmers means that they deal with droughts differently. Responses to drought are context-specific depending...

The best management options for cover cropping are largely unknown, including the growth patterns of cover crop (CC) species, optimum termination stages and termination methods. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to explore the following: (i) Effect of two termination stages (vegetative and flowering) on the chemical composition (N and C:N) of f...

The project sought to characterise smallholder farmers and to identify the coping and adaptation strategies which they adopt during periods of drought.

This study assessed the effect of four living cover crops (CC) and residues, two termination stages and two termination methods on soil organic matter (SOM) and alteration index three (AI3) at two experimental sites, in the Western Cape, South Africa, over one year. Species tested as CCs were, vetch, pea, oats, rye and control (no CC). Soil was sam...

Cover crop (CC) cultivation can improve crop yield, soil and environmental quality. Cover crops are multifunctional and contribute to soil quality by improving soil physical, chemical and biological properties. The crops also enhance organic matter and increase nutrient release, suppress weeds, and control pests. There is a need to continually expl...

Cover crop (CC) management can be improved to enhance carbon storage, microbial activity and fertility in agricultural soils. This study assessed the immediate effect of living CCs and residues, two termination stages (vegetative and flowering) and two termination methods (slash and spray) on soil β-glucosidase activity and soil organic carbon (SOC...

Agricultural water is not equitably shared in South Africa. A substantial proportion of water is in the hands of large commercial farmers and the water access of smallholder farmers is limited. Policies and strategies developed since 1994 to ensure equal access to productive water have had little impact. This paper presents an analysis of the chall...

After many years of water allocation reform, emerging farmers are still lagging behind as far as equity and access to water resources is concerned, and their participation in water user associations is still limited or passive. Recent collaboration between researchers and the water sector aimed to improve this situation in the Breede-Gouritz Catchm...

Ever since the 21-day national lockdown to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus came into effect, reports indicate that the lockdown may have worsened the already existing inequalities in access to water and sanitation services in townships, informal settlements and among the homeless. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), water, sanit...

Biological quality measurements of soil are considered as important parameter in determining fertility of agricultural soil. New developments include the use of enzyme activity to analyze soil functional diversity, which is influenced by the genetic diversity of soil microorganisms, and is closely linked to ecological interactions & environmental f...

Effect of zeolite amendment on soil microbial enzyme activities of β-glucosidase, phosphatase and urease.

Alteration index three (Al3), which measures the balances between three enzymes, can serve as a reliable means of detecting soil quality change due to management practices. This study aimed to evaluate the short-term effect of four living cover crops and residues, two termination stages and two termination methods on soil organic matter (SOM) and A...

Preliminary results on the effect of zeolite on the growth of Swiss chard, and the water retention ability of zeolite in sandy soil.

South Africa is classified as a water-scarce country, and depends on agriculture for food production. The irrigation sector is the largest consumer of water in the country, accounting for about 62% of water utilisation, but also losing 30-40%. Given the threat of drought and climate change, efficient irrigation systems have become a necessity, espe...

South Africa experienced one of the worst droughts in history during the 2014-2017 period with 2015 recording the lowest rainfall since 1904. Response to drought is usually focused on scientific solutions, ignoring local approaches. The article presents results of a three-year interaction with farmers in the semi-arid Karoo region of South Africa....

The discussion was facilitated by Patrick Bahal'okwibale from FAO, Ethiopia and Jean-Marc Mwenge Kahinda from CSIR, South Africa and aimed at exploring the role that indigenous and traditional practices can play to support climate change adaptation efforts and reduce water scarcity in agriculture. Over the three weeks of discussion, participants fr...

Improving agricultural production remains a major challenge for smallholder farmers in South Africa. The enactment of the 1998 Water Act and subsequent water allocation reforms were meant to correct equity challenges of the past in water allocation and increase agricultural productivity in the rural sector. More than 20 years after the initiation o...

Background and Significance of the topic: The chapter gives an overview of precision agriculture and its impacts on food security in Africa. Methodology: Methods and concepts of precision agriculture are described including crop, soil and position sensors; which include global positioning and remote sensing applications in detection of crop stress,...

The main aim of the project was to assess some of the issues and challenges that have resulted in limited progress in agricultural water allocation to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals (HDIs) in the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA) in South Africa, despite all the efforts, and to explore ways to alleviate the situation.

Soil is a fundamental resource and it is crucial to manage its quality in order to enhance agricultural productivity and environmental quality. Soil enzymes catalyze several biochemical reactions which result in the transformation of organic matter, and the release of inorganic nutrients for plant growth and nutrient cycling. Soil enzyme activities...

Presentation summarises the main findings of the Water Research Commission Project 2310.

The main objectives of the report were to give a description of smallholder farming in South Africa and outline the challenges faced by the sector including the impacts of drought and climate change.

The main objective was to conduct a desktop review in the nine provinces of South Africa, with a view of identifying the current knowledge on drought and occurrence, the ways in which the government is managing the drought both at national and provincial level, including Early Warning Systems, Climate Advisory Services, and Indigenous Knowledge Sys...

Many studies have been conducted to assess challenges faced by smallholder crop producers in South Africa but few have focused on agronomic constraints. This study is a review of agronomic constraints faced by smallholder farmers under irrigation and dryland farming in South Africa. Constraints include choice of cultivars, planting dates and densit...

Many studies have been conducted to assess challenges faced by smallholder crop producers in South Africa but few have focused on agronomic constraints. This study is a review of agronomic constraints faced by smallholder farmers under irrigation and dryland farming in South Africa. Constraints include choice of cultivars, planting dates and densit...

Deliverable 2 of the Water Research Commission Project 2602 entitled “Coping and adaptation strategies for agricultural water use during drought periods”.

Improving agricultural production remains a major challenge for smallholder farmers in South Africa. The enactment of the 1998 Water Act and subsequent water allocation reforms were meant to correct equity challenges of the past in water allocation and increase agricultural productivity in the rural sector. More than 20 years after the initiation o...

Summary of findings from Water Research Commission Project 2084

Local indigenous populations have been living and coping with extreme environmental conditions such as drought for a long time. Their local indigenous knowledge holds valid, meaningful and relevant answers for coping with current and future climate change scenarios.

The National Water Act (1998) of South Africa has three main principles to achieve equitable access to water resources, environmental sustainability and efficient use of water. Consequently, water allocation reforms were implemented to ensure historically disadvantaged individuals also have access to water. Despite these efforts there is a percepti...

Presented initial findings from the project.

Results generated from this project are aligned with the Intergovermental Committee on Climate Change (IPCC) approaches especially the impacts, coping and adaptation strategies. Several drought indicators were highlighted by farmers in the Karoo region, for example, farmers understood well how the behaviour of certain animals and plants meant that...

The Great Karoo of South Africa is semi - arid with low, unreliable rainfall, and it is prone to drought which results in negative impacts on agriculture. Lack of effective drought management is a challenge to all farmers. Farmers need to find ways to adapt to the changing environment. A study was carried out in the Southern Cape part of the Karoo...

Part of the project: Approaches for Emerging Farmer Participation in Water Resource Management: The Case of the Breede-Gouritz Catchment Management Agency (BGCMA), Western Cape

Next to drought, poor soil fertility is the single biggest cause of hunger in Africa. ICRISATZimbabwe has been working for the past 10 years to encourage small-scale farmers to increase inorganic fertiliser use as the first step towards Africa’s own Green Revolution. The program of work is founded on promoting small quantities of inorganic nitrogen...

Next to drought, poor soil fertility is the single biggest cause of hunger in Africa. ICRISAT-Zimbabwe has been working for the past 10years to encourage small-scale farmers to increase inorganic fertiliser use as the first step towards Africa’s own Green Revolution. The program of work is founded on promoting small quantities of inorganic nitrogen...

Poor soil fertility and erratic rains are major constraints to crop production in semi-arid environments. In the smallholder farming systems of sub-Saharan Africa, these constraints are manifested in frequent crop failures and endemic food insecurity. We characterized a semi-arid smallholder farming system in south-western Zimbabwe to assess crop p...

The APSIM model was used to assess the impact of legumes on sorghum grown in rotation in a nutrient-limited system under dry conditions in south-western Zimbabwe. An experiment was conducted at Lucydale, Matopos Research Station, between 2002 and 2005. The model was used to simulate soil and plant responses in the experiment. Sequences of cowpea (V...

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a promising technology for increasing water availability for crop production of smallholder farmers in the semi‐arid regions of the Limpopo Basin. A few studies on rainwater harvesting have been conducted in the basin at small plot and farmer field scales. Results from Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa indicate sub...

The Challenge Program on Water and Food Project Number 17 has been running within the Limpopo Basin for three years. The main goal of the project is to contribute to improved rural livelihoods of poor smallholder farmers through the development of an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) framework for increased productive use of water flows a...

In improving global food production, the problem is not always due to the physical scarcity of water, but rather the lack of integrated land-water management approaches and weak institutional arrangements. An integrated approach to green and blue water management from the farmer's field to the river basin scale is required to promote and upscale sm...

Next to drought, poor soil fertility is the single biggest cause of hunger in Africa. Despite this, smallholder farmers use very little manure, and less so, the recommended inorganic fertilizers. This is largely due to the input being unaffordable to the majority of smallholders. In drier regions, farmers are also concerned about application risks....

The productivity and residual benefits of four grain legumes to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) grown in rotation were measured under semi-arid conditions over three cropping seasons. Two varieties of each of the grain legumes; cowpea (Vigna unguiculata); groundnut (Arachis hypogaea); pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan); Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), and...

Participatory on-farm trials were conducted for three seasons to assess the benefits of small rates of manure and nitrogen fertilizer on maize grain yield in semi-arid Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe. Two farmer resource groups conducted trials based on available amounts of manure, 3tha−1 (low resource group) and 6tha−1 (high resource group). Maize yields var...

African smallholder farmers face perennial food shortages due to low crop yields. The major cause of poor crop yields is soil fertility decline. The diversity of sites and soils between African farming systems is great, therefore strategies to solve soil fertility problems should suit the opportunities and problems encountered in the different clim...

The study was conducted for three seasons (2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05) in semiarid southwestern Zimbabwe. The objective was to assess yield and residual benefits to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) grown after cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea), groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) and pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan). Two va...

Next to drought, poor soil fertility is the single biggest cause of hunger in Africa. Despite this, smallholder farmers use very little manure, and less so, the recommended inorganic fertilizers. This is largely due to the input being unaffordable to the majority of smallholders. In drier regions, farmers are also concerned about application risks....

The collaborators’ workshop held in September 2000 in Zimbabwe brought together stakeholders from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and UK, who actively participated in the Department for International Development (DFID)-supported project “Will women farmers invest in improving their soil fertility management? Participatory experimentation in a risky environment.”...

The collaborators' workshop held in September 2000 in Zimbabwe brought together stakeholders from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and U K , who actively participated in the Department for International Development (DFID)-supported project " W i l l women farmers invest in improving their soil fertility management? Participatory experimentation in a risky environ...