Guidelines for Implementing Climate Smart Agriculture Strategy in South Africa

The agricultural sector in South Africa is a vital for economic development and the creation of a green economy despite its contribution of just 2 percent to the country’s total gross domestic product. That’s because agriculture indirectly feeds the national economy since almost 70 percent of agricultural output gets utilized as intermediate products in manufacturing. 

However, agriculture is also vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, including increases in temperature, reduced rainfall, and water scarcity. Since agriculture both contributes to and is harmed by climate change, any efforts to green the economy through this sector must address both facets. Climate smart agriculture is ideal in this regard because it incorporates both mitigation and adaptation.

The SWITCH Africa Green programme provided technical support and mobilized the collaboration between technical experts, the government and private sector to develop three step-by-step guidance documents on implementing climate smart agriculture in South Africa. 

• Vol 1: Situational Analysis on the targeted areas
• Vol 2: Climate Smart Agriculture Practices
• Vol 3: Enabling Environment for its successful implementation
• Policy Brief- Actionable Climate Smart Agriculture Guidelines for South Africa 

Policy Brief