摘要
O.R. Tambo District is vulnerable to the effects of drought, given the social and economic circumstances of residents in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The communal farmers of O.R. Tambo District engage in crop and livestock farming activities in pursuit of their livelihoods. Economic reliance on agriculture and the depletion of resources increase their vulnerability to drought. The lack of adequate resources to prepare for and respond to drought has led to high drought vulnerability. The main aim of this study is to analyse the perception of communal farmers towards drought. This study is based on primary data collected from 87 communal farmers following a structured questionnaire survey, purposive sampling method procedures, and the creation of a perception index. The results revealed that perceptions held by communal farmers indicate that (i) they receive inadequate government support for drought risk reduction, (ii) they do not consider social networks as being effectively involved in drought risk reduction, (iii) there is a system of gender stereotyping among the farmers with discrimination against women, (iv) psychological stress affects their farm activities, and (v) they experience high levels of stock theft and insecurity in their farming. The study recommends that there should be coordination and collaboration among all role players. This includes coordination between monitoring agencies in terms of reliable early warning data, communicated in a comprehensive way to decision-makers, farmer's organisations and private sector. Collaboration with government departments at national and provincial level should also be strengthened. This includes collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) at national level, provincial Departments of Agriculture, National and Provincial Disaster Management Centres (NDMC and PDMC), Department of Water Affairs (DWA), South African Weather Service (SAWS) and the South African Police Service (SAPS). This coordination and collaboration will help to strengthen strategies which target enhancing communal farmers’ awareness of the importance of social networking, role of government, level of security, stress and gender equality. The result of this study will directly contribute to the development of South African drought plan which is currently under formulation.