Given that hotter and drier conditions threaten South Africa's agricultural season in 2026/27, scientist Dr. Mathelele Lehlogonolo explains how local landrace seeds can be key to climate change resilience.
As South Africa prepares for the expected El Niño season of 2026/27, concerns are rising again regarding the country's agricultural prospects. For grain producers, livestock farmers, politicians, and consumers, the prospect of reduced rainfall and increased temperatures raises complex questions about food production, food prices, and agriculture.
Although modern improved crop varieties have significantly increased agricultural productivity in recent decades, there is growing recognition that landrace seeds—traditional varieties selected and maintained by farming communities for generations—can play an increasingly important role in helping South African agriculture cope with climate shocks.
As climate change intensifies and droughts become more frequent, these locally adapted genetic resources may cease to be seen merely as relics of traditional agriculture, but instead become valuable tools for building sustainable food systems.
El Niño is a natural climatic phenomenon associated with warming sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Although it occurs thousands of kilometers from Africa, it has a profound impact on global weather patterns.
In South Africa, El Niño is typically associated with the following phenomena:
- Reduced summer rainfall
- Above-average temperatures
- More frequent heatwaves
- Increased evapotranspiration
- Poor soil moisture
- Higher risk of crop failure
- Decreased pasture availability for livestock
While not every El Niño event affects all regions equally, South Africa has historically experienced some of the most severe agricultural droughts during strong El Niño years, including periods in 1982/83, 1991/92, 2015/16, and to varying degrees, 2023/24.
For the upcoming 2026/27 production season, climate forecasts suggest that producers should be prepared for potentially drier than usual conditions in many regions of the country's summer rainfall season. Therefore, early preparedness may prove critical.
South Africa's agricultural sector heavily relies on a relatively small number of commercial crop types, specifically maize, wheat, soy, sunflower, and potatoes.
Within these crops, farmers often cultivate only a limited number of commercial varieties developed primarily for high-intensity production systems. These improved varieties demonstrate exceptional results under favorable growing conditions, but many require sufficient rainfall, fertilizers, pesticides, good soil fertility, and intensive management.
Under severe water stress, yields can drop sharply. This is where genetic diversity becomes critically important.
Landrace seeds are local crop varieties that have evolved over many generations through continuous selection by farmers in specific ecological conditions. Unlike commercial hybrids, landraces possess vast genetic diversity within each population.
Traditionally, farmers selected seeds from plants that survived drought, poor soils, pests, diseases, heat, and unpredictable rainfall. As a result, landraces often contain valuable traits that allow them to better withstand environmental stresses.
Examples found across South Africa include sorghum, pearl barley, beans, Bambara groundnuts, peanuts, dry beans, pumpkins, indigenous leafy vegetables, and traditional maize varieties.
Many rural communities continue to preserve these seeds through home seed saving and community seed banks.
One of the greatest strengths of landraces is their resilience, rather than maximum yield. While commercial hybrids often produce higher yields in ideal conditions, landraces often outperform them when rainfall becomes scarce.
Their advantages are shown in Figure 1 below.
Several African countries have already demonstrated how conserving landraces contributes to food security during extreme climatic events.
Ethiopia possesses one of the richest collections of traditional African crop varieties. Farmers continue to cultivate diverse landraces of teff, barley, wheat, and sorghum. The country's close collaboration between farmers and national gene banks has helped preserve crop diversity while providing breeders with valuable genetic material for developing climate-resilient varieties.
In Zimbabwe, traditional sorghum and pearl barley have repeatedly shown greater drought resistance than maize in dry years. The government and development partners are increasingly promoting these traditional cereals in semi-arid regions where maize production remains highly risky.
In Malawi, community seed banks have allowed farmers to preserve local varieties while improving access to drought-resistant seeds after climate-related disasters. The combination of home seed saving and community seed exchange has strengthened local resilience.
In Kenya, farmer-involved participatory breeding programs have successfully combined traditional landraces with modern breeding methods, creating improved varieties that retain valuable stress-resistance characteristics.
South Africa has significant diversity in indigenous crops, yet much of this remains untapped. Traditional crops such as pearl barley, sorghum, beans, Bambara groundnuts, peanuts, amadumbe, and indigenous vegetables historically sustained communities living in drought-prone areas.
However, over time, many farmers have shifted to maize monocultures and commercially bred varieties. As climate risks increase, interest in these traditional crops is growing. Institutions such as the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), universities, community seed banks, and the National Plant Genetic Resources Centre continue to maintain valuable landrace collections that can contribute significantly to future crop improvement.
While landrace seeds offer significant potential, they cannot be considered a complete replacement for improved commercial varieties. Rather, they are part of a broader strategy for climate change adaptation. Their greatest value lies in:
- Maintaining genetic diversity
- Providing useful traits for breeding programs
- Supporting smallholder farming systems
- Reducing production risks
- Preserving cultural heritage
- Strengthening local seed systems
Future breeding efforts will increasingly depend on the unique genes found in landrace populations to develop varieties capable of thriving in hotter and drier climates.
Preparing for future El Niño events requires coordinated action across South Africa's entire agricultural sector. Priority measures include:
- Expanding the collection and conservation of landrace seeds.
- Supporting community seed banks and household seed conservation initiatives.
- Encouraging participatory breeding involving farmers and researchers.
- Promoting drought-resistant traditional crops in vulnerable areas.
- Raising farmers' awareness about the value of agricultural biodiversity.
- Integrating landrace conservation into national climate change adaptation strategies.
- Investing in research on climate-resilient indigenous crops.
- Facilitating seed exchange networks while maintaining seed quality standards.
A Future Based on Diversity
The expected El Niño of 2026/27 serves as another reminder that climate uncertainty is becoming the new normal. Building resilient agriculture is now not just about increasing yields, but about reducing risks. Landrace seeds represent millennia of farmer innovation and natural adaptation. Their rich genetic diversity may hold many answers needed to secure future food production in an increasingly unpredictable climate.
For commercial producers, integrating climate-resilient varieties into production systems can reduce vulnerability. For smallholder farmers, preserving traditional seed systems can provide an accessible and locally adapted safety net. For breeders, landraces remain an indispensable gene reservoir for future improved varieties.
As South Africa faces another potentially challenging growing season, the nation's greatest agricultural insurance may already exist; not only in laboratories, but also in seed stores, community seed banks, and on the fields of family farms that have preserved these genetic treasures for generations. In an era of climate uncertainty, conserving landrace diversity is no longer just a conservation measure. It is an investment in the future food security of South Africa.
