South Africa can no longer view extreme weather events as temporary setbacks in agriculture. The issue has become central to ensuring food security, maintaining livelihoods, and economic development, which should dictate the design of agricultural programs, farmer support, and investments in rural communities.
For farming communities, weather matters far beyond daily forecasts; it determines crop survival, access to livestock, market entry for produce, and family income. Recent heavy rainfall, flooding, and cold conditions in the Eastern Cape starkly demonstrated this reality: roads were damaged, fields became waterlogged, and many farmers struggled to reach their livestock, crops, and markets.
While rains eased the situation in some areas that had suffered prolonged drought, their intensity showed that excessive precipitation can be as destructive as its lack. The consequences extend beyond individual farms. A preliminary assessment of May 2026 storms by Hortgro estimated potential damage and production losses of 6.3 billion rand in the apple and stone fruit industry in the Eastern and Western Cape, jeopardizing over 6,700 direct agricultural jobs. Orchards, arable land, dams, water infrastructure, packing houses, cold storage facilities, roads, and power grids were affected.
These events highlight an uncomfortable truth: farmers are increasingly expected not only to produce food but to do so while constantly adapting to unpredictable and often extreme environmental conditions. Inmed South Africa's team faced similar challenges while testing saffron in the Eastern Cape. Saffron is a high-value crop capable of helping smallholder farmers diversify their income and participate in new markets, but successful cultivation depends on carefully controlled growing conditions.
Excessive rainfall and prolonged saturation can negatively affect soil health, slow down fieldwork, and stress young plants. Recent conditions made it difficult for project teams to access test sites, delayed monitoring visits, and disrupted planned field activities. While this might be dismissed as a failure, agricultural innovations rarely follow a predictable or smooth path. Trials must be conducted under the conditions that farmers actually experience, not just in ideal circumstances. Understanding how saffron behaves with excess rain is as important as measuring its progress in favorable weather.
Every challenging season brings knowledge, providing more information about soil preparation, drainage, crop management, site selection, and the support that may be needed for farmers to successfully grow new crops. Thus, the value of an agricultural trial is determined not only by whether the crop meets the plan but also by what it teaches us about risks, adaptation, and the realities of implementing new livelihood opportunities in climate-vulnerable communities.
The response of Eastern Cape farmers once again demonstrated the determination and ingenuity inherent in South Africa's agricultural communities. Farmers moved livestock to safer locations, protected infrastructure where possible, navigated damaged roads, and supported each other during floods, isolation, and frosts. However, reliance solely on farmer resilience is insufficient; systemic issues that make them vulnerable must be addressed. Resilient farmers also require reliable infrastructure, practical training, accurate information, appropriate technology, and access to financial and technical support.
Climate sustainability must be integrated at every stage of agricultural development. This includes selecting crops and varieties suitable for local conditions, improving soil and water management, strengthening drainage systems, and promoting water-efficient production methods. It is also crucial to help farmers diversify their crops and income sources so that a single extreme event does not wipe out their entire livelihood. Infrastructure plays an equal role: a productive farm cannot contribute to food security or local economic development if damaged roads prevent produce from reaching markets.
Extreme weather events will continue to test South Africa's food systems. The question is whether we will continuously react after a disaster strikes or invest in helping farmers prepare, adapt, and recover more effectively. Support programs for small and emerging farmers must incorporate climate risk planning from the outset. Farmers need practical guidance on changing weather patterns, crop selection, soil management, water efficiency, and disaster preparedness, as well as access to climate-literate agricultural methods that reduce dependence on unpredictable growing conditions.
Inmed's work in adaptive agriculture includes approaches such as aquaponics, water-efficient food production, testing high-value crops, skills development, and community-level enterprise support. These models are not singular solutions to a complex problem but rather part of broader efforts to provide farmers with more tools, knowledge, and livelihood options. The saffron trial in the Eastern Cape contributes to this learning. Recent weather tested the program but also deepened the understanding of what is required to support future producers. By combining the experience of farming communities with research, climate-literate practices, robust infrastructure, and long-term partnerships, agricultural systems can be built that are capable not only of surviving tough seasons but also of continuing to produce food, income, and opportunity.
Discussions about climate change in South Africa often focus on agriculture, as this is where the consequences of environmental shocks are most evident. The main focus is on droughts, floods, reduced yields, and heat stress affecting livestock. This is because the agricultural sector is directly exposed to extreme weather events.
However, food systems encompass much more than just agricultural production. Between farms and consumers is the agro-processing sector. It consists of enterprises that transform raw agricultural goods into finished food products through processes such as cleaning, milling, canning, packaging, storage, and manufacturing.
This sector links agricultural production with markets, retailers, and households. In South Africa, agro-processing accounts for about 25% of the national output and provides over 300,000 direct jobs.
The agro-processing sector is particularly sensitive to climate risks because its operations depend on a stable supply of agricultural raw materials (crops and livestock). This makes it extremely vulnerable to disruptions caused by droughts, floods, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events.
Researchers conducted a study in the industrial hub of Gauteng, South Africa, to find out how businesses in this sector manage climate risks and what steps they are taking to adapt. This provincial center was chosen due to its significance for food processing, logistics, and distribution in the country. Disruptions in agro-processing affect not only the province but also food availability, supply reliability, employment, and food prices across South Africa.
The study involved interviews with 113 agro-processing enterprises. Participants were asked whether they were aware of climate risks, what they could do to adapt, and what prevented them from doing so.
Key findings showed that formal education is a strong determinant of climate change adaptation. It was found that agro-processing businesses whose owners have a university education make more informed decisions and implement climate-aware practices. Meanwhile, most available training proved ineffective because it focused on production and business management rather than understanding climate risks or ways to respond to them.
Researchers concluded that mere participation in agro-processing is insufficient to advance climate change adaptation; education plays a crucial role here. Other factors, such as age, gender, education, and business experience, had a limited impact on decision-makers' adoption of adaptation measures (such as water conservation, use of energy-efficient technologies, improved storage methods, or diversification of raw material suppliers).
The study included enterprises involved in grain milling, meat processing, dairy production, fruit and vegetable processing, as well as poultry farming, bakeries, and food manufacturers. It was found that these businesses suffer greatly from climate-related disruptions because they rely on crops, livestock, and other agricultural raw materials, as well as water and energy.
Business owners reported that major challenges include water scarcity, rising temperatures, irregular supply of agricultural resources, and increasing production costs. Some companies have taken steps to combat climate change, such as starting to conserve water. They have also expanded their product range to include more long-life processed foods. Operational adaptation included changing work schedules during intense heat, improving ventilation and cooling, and using water more efficiently.
Nevertheless, many struggled with further action due to lack of funds, technical support, and access to reliable information about climate threats.
The study results indicate that agro-processing enterprises in Gauteng need greater support to understand climate change and prepare for its consequences. This support should include better access to information and practical training programs. This will help businesses respond to growing climate risks.
Assisting businesses in adapting should not only be the effort of individual companies. Climate change adaptation must be integrated into existing support programs, such as training, education, and consultation, rather than being treated as an optional extra. Such assistance is usually provided through government extension services, industry groups, and small business support programs.
Any planning for the industry and food production sector must include such training, especially as climate disruptions become more frequent and costly.
Access to climate-focused education, practical training, and technical assistance will be paramount. Many business owners recognize the risk posed by climate change, but awareness of the problem does not always equate to knowing how to respond. Practical guidance, planning tools, and expert advice can help businesses move from short-term measures to long-term preparedness.
Access to financing is also critical, as climate change adaptation requires capital investment. These funds can be directed towards new equipment, infrastructure, or technologies that help cope with changing conditions such as heatwaves and floods. Simultaneously, basic public services must be improved: reliable electricity supply, stable water supply, and functioning municipal services are vital for agro-processing businesses in Gauteng. When these systems are unreliable, it is much harder for businesses to prepare for and respond to climate change.
The study also showed that greater support is needed for women-led enterprises, as women face greater difficulties in accessing finance, technology, market access, and climate information. Preparing agro-processing enterprises for climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a matter of protecting food supplies, supporting jobs, and strengthening the economy.
}))Maize has long served as the foundation of South Africa's food system. However, due to rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and unpredictable rainfall that is transforming the country's agricultural regions, many producers consider growing this staple crop an increasingly risky venture.
Some farmers are forced to replant fields after seeds fail to germinate in overheated soil. Others are reducing the area planted with maize or shifting some land to more drought-resistant crops, such as sunflower and soy, to mitigate climate change losses.
These observations align with forecasts from local climatologists. Climatologist François Engelbrecht has designated Southern Africa as one of the world's climate change hotspots, warning that the region is warming faster than the global average.
Under high-emission scenarios, rising temperatures, increased heatwaves, and prolonged droughts could severely undermine the viability of rain-fed maize production if farmers do not adopt adaptive measures.
Motsidisi Modise, a farmer from Mpumalanga, has already faced these changes. She noted that the last five years have been difficult, especially due to drought and lack of rainfall, which negatively impacted yields. She stressed that without large-scale irrigation to help during droughts, maintaining harvests is impossible if this continues.
In the Free State, farmer Setjaba Ramabengane shared similar difficulties, stating that weather unpredictability forced him to stop growing maize permanently ten years ago. He mentioned a devastating drought two seasons ago, noting that by limiting maize planting to less than 100 hectares, he avoided catastrophic financial collapse. Nevertheless, the volatility changed his attitude toward the crop, and he now prefers sunflowers, soy, and wheat.
The local threat has deep biological roots. According to agronomist and soil scientist Dr. Hendrik Smith, a localized temperature increase of just 1.5–2.0°C can trigger a reduction in maize yield in South Africa by 15% to over 40%.
Smith explained that harvest unpredictability could rise by up to 25%, directly leading to higher food prices in local stores. The temperature increase poses a serious threat to maize production in South Africa, as higher heat shortens the crop's growth phases and significantly increases evaporation.
Maize is highly sensitive to heat stress during flowering, pollination, and early grain filling. When temperatures exceed 30°C during these critical periods, the plant's reproductive systems are disrupted, damaging pollen viability and completely halting fertilization. A prolonged heatwave at this stage can instantly destroy 80%–90% of a farmer's expected yield.
A 2020 study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, rising temperatures, and changing precipitation patterns could lead to a 24% drop in global maize yields by the end of the century, with the decline becoming noticeable as early as 2030.
To ensure future food security, farmers can no longer rely on traditional methods. Smith outlined several crucial adaptation strategies: focusing on adjusting planting times, using adapted varieties, maintaining soil health, and employing regenerative agricultural practices to mitigate damage.
According to Smith's research on regenerative agriculture, increasing climate resilience starts with improving soil condition. Methods such as minimum or no-tillage and maintaining continuous soil cover increase soil organic matter content, allowing it to retain more moisture during prolonged droughts and heatwaves. Smith also advocates for more diverse crop rotations and the use of drought-tolerant crops to distribute climate risks. Technology is another important adaptation tool: farmers are increasingly using more accurate weather forecasts and studying heat-tolerant seed varieties to improve their chances of maintaining yields in an increasingly unpredictable climate.
