Disasters have increased in frequency and their impact has been intensely felt on
the continent. This frequently results in damage to the resources and infrastructure
on which humans rely on for survival and quality of life. When disasters strike, large
segments of the population are faced with devastating consequences, which include
food shortages, limited shelter and inadequate health services. Disasters are a result
of a complex mix of natural and other hazards, including human actions and
vulnerabilities. They consist of a combination of factors that determine the potential
for people to be exposed to particular types of hazards. The frequency and impact of
disasters in South Africa has increased significantly, the most common type of
disaster being drought.
Droughts are the result of reduced amounts of rain received over a long period of
time, but it includes delays at the beginning of the precipitation season that affects
crops that depend on the rain. For the purpose of this study, agricultural and socioeconomic
drought received attention. Agricultural drought is when the humidity in the
soil is not sufficient to assist crop production and growth in the area. Socio-economic
drought arises when economic activities aligned with other elements do not meet the
population demand. Agricultural droughts often have the latent effect of reducing
agricultural production to such an extent that the livelihoods of the communal
farmers are threatened. Drought effects often result in shrivelling crops, loss of water
resources, vegetation and a decrease in livestock forage for communal farmers.
This, in turn, leads to a decreased availability of food and the overall loss of
livelihoods. In addition, activities such as crop growing and grazing conditions for
livestock remain vulnerable, yet rural communities rely on these to generate income.
The most severe impact of droughts do not simply include the absence of food
supply for the community, but rather correlates directly with the severity and the
duration of droughts. This often increases the community’s vulnerability.
The empirical findings were concluded from focus groups interviews and semistructured
interviews as data collection for the study. The data collected from the
field was compared to the Sustainable Livelihood Framework. The analysis revealed
that drought mitigation in South Africa only exists in governmental policy documents.
Moreover, the lack of a disaster management plan for Setlagole makes it difficult to
prepare for drought. An inadequate relationship between farmers and the
government also makes it difficult to create a sense of shared vision and mission for
drought alleviation. One prominent issue that makes the effects of drought so severe
is the process of relief; it takes too long for the government to give assistance to the
farmers. This shows that mitigation measures are needed to prepare both the
farmers and the government for drought. / M Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/15548 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Shoroma, Lesego Bradley |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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