Investigating smallholder farmers' knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient legumes in selected villages of Limpopo Province, South Africa : a case of tepary bean

Abstract

Climate change is said to be a major hazard to global food security. Smallholder farmers from disadvantaged villages are more vulnerable to the effects of climates of change and this affects their agricultural productivity. Changes in the climate can lead to reduced crop yields, water scarcity, increased pests and diseases, and food security among other effects. It has been proposed that smallholder farmers need to react to these effects of climate change by changing the types of crops they grow, to more climate-resilient and versatile ones. Among those crops are tepary beans, which have been proven to withstand different climatic changes. Tepary beans are climate-resilient legumes native to the southwestern United States and Mexico. Not only are tepary beans climate-resilient but are also high in nutrition, rich in fibre, good source of minerals and resistant to pests and diseases. Despite the potential benefits of tepary beans, there is not enough understanding of smallholder farmers' knowledge and perceptions regarding these climate-resilient legumes. Given these reasons it becomes relevant to investigate smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient tepary beans. In addition to the existing body of knowledge, this study will give policymakers, academics, and development practitioners important insights and raise awareness for additional research on the role of tepary beans in promoting food security and adapting to climate change. Hence, the study aimed to investigate factors that influence smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient legumes such as tepary beans in selected villages of Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study had four objectives, namely: to profile the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder farmers, assess smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate resilient legumes such as tepary bean, describe the typologies of different legume crops that smallholder farmers are knowledgeable about and those that they are planting, including challenges associated with planting these crops and finally, to analyse the socio-economic factors influencing smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient legumes such as tepary bean. This study was conducted in 9 selected villages of Limpopo province namely, Thabakgone, Mamotintane, Ga-Motholo, v Bloodriver, Ga-Thoka, Tjiane, Mphakane, Ga-Phasha and Ga-Kobe, where a total of 100 smallholder legumes farmers were sampled using purposeful sampling. The study used both qualitative and quantitative data collected through interviews with smallholder farmers using well-structured questionnaires. The data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Descriptive statistics were used to to profile the socio-economic characteristics of smallholder farmers and to describe the typologies of different legume crops that smallholder farmers are knowledgeable about and those that they are planting, including challenges associated with planting these crops. In order to assess smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient legumes such as tepary bean, the study used Descriptive statistics by employing the Likert scale. Multinomial Logistics Regression model was used to generate the results of the socio-economic factors influencing smallholder farmers’ knowledge. Binary Logistics Regression model was used to generate the results of the socio-economic factors influencing smallholder farmers’ perceptions on climate-resilient legumes such as tepary bean in selected villages of Limpopo Province. The results of Multinomial Logistics Regression model showed that employment status, production cost, nutritional value, land size, and production cost were significant. These variables had an influence on the knowledge smallholder farmers have on climate resilient legumes. A positive relationship between employment and knowledge of climate resilient legumes implied that being employed is linked to an increase in the knowledge of climate-resilient legumes amongst smallholder farmers classified as having medium knowledge. The positive relationship between nutritional value and knowledge of smallholder farmers means that with knowledge of nutritional value of tepary beans are likely to adopt. The negative relationship between production cost and knowledge of climate-resilient legumes mean that high costs of production can reduce the smallholder farmers' willingness to gain knowledge. Binary Logistic Regression model results showed that production cost, land size, marital status, nutritional value, employment and access to extension services do determine how smallholder farmers perceive climate-resilient legumes. This proposes that smallholder vi farmers are willing to accept higher costs if they perceive the long-term benefits of the crop in terms of climate resilience. The positive relationship between land size and smallholder farmers’ perceptions towards climate resilient beans could mean that larger sizes of land influence farmers to easily adopt to new and different crops. Marital status and perceptions of smallholder farmers on climate-resilient beans have a positive relationship, which suggests that married smallholder farmers have people who depend on them and may be more open to adopting climate-resilient crops to maintain food security. The results showed that nutritional value of tepary beans is not enough to balance concerns about its adaptability to climate stresses, particularly in areas where climate resilient traits are prioritized over nutritional content. Results also show that other means of income make farmers less likely to perceive climate-resilient beans positively. The statistically significant negative relationship between access to extension services and smallholder farmers perceptions showed that smallholder farmers having access to information does not guarantee positive perceptions. This means that available extension programs might not be aligned with the needs of smallholder farmers who are growing climate-resilient legumes. In conclusion, both the hypotheses of the study were rejected as the results showed that there was difference in the level of knowledge and perceptions of smallholder farmers on climate-resilient legumes and socio-economic factors do influence smallholder farmers’ knowledge and perceptions on climate-resilient legumes such as tepary beans. Policymakers could create training programmes that accommodate all smallholder farmers despite the size of their land. Extension services should be improved to cater for the challenges and needs of smallholder farmers.