NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 2065
DATE OF PUBLICATION: MONDAY 02 NOVEMBER 2009 [IQP No 26 -2009]
FIRST SESSION, FOURTH PARLIAMENT
Question 2065 for Written Reply, National Assembly: Dr L L Bosman (DA) to
ask the Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:
Whether, considering the impacts of climate change on agriculture, she (a)
is considering the improvement of early warning systems for weather for
agriculture and (b) has examined the effects of (i) changes in ecosystem
structures, (ii) the loss of biodiversity on agricultural production and
(iii) expanding drought areas on food production; if not, why not; if so,
what are the relevant details? NW2719E
REPLY:
(a) Yes, the effectiveness of the system depends on the full functionality
of certain elements of the system i.e. prior risk knowledge, monitoring and
warning service, dissemination and communication and the capacity to
respond by all involved. The department continuously conducts monitoring
and evaluation of the system to identify the gaps and comes up with some
solutions for improvements.
⢠The Ministry issues warnings and advisories to those at risk to
mitigate the impacts of the natural hazards. Capacity building
workshops are also being conducted for farmers and extension officials
on the âunderstanding, interpretation and usage of weather and climate
forecasts for agricultureâ.
⢠National Agro-meteorological Committee (NAC) which meet regularly to
review agro-meteorological information and advice on the season ahead
and Early Warning Committees (EWC) have been established to facilitate
the implementation of Early Warning Systems in the provinces.
(b) (i) Yes, the effects of changes in ecosystem structures are
continuously being examined. The use of resources such as food, water
and timber has increased rapidly and continues to grow, sometimes
unsustainably. Changes in biodiversity affect the ability of
ecosystems to supply services and to recover from disturbances. When a
species is added or lost at a particular location, the various
ecosystems services specifically associated with that species are
changed. Similarly, when a particular habitat is converted for human
use, the ecosystems services associated with the species that live
there are changed.
Many animal and plant populations have declined in numbers,
geographical spread, or both. For instance, a quarter of mammal
species are currently threatened by extinction. Human activity has
caused between 50 and 1000 times more extinctions in the last 100
years than would have happened due to natural processes. Increasingly,
the same species are found at different locations on the planet and
the overall biodiversity is decreasing because some rare species are
lost and common ones spread to new areas. Overall, the range of
genetic differences within species has declined, particularly for
crops and livestock.
DAFF support the continuing research on the effects of changes in
ecosystem structures â to promote genomics which are far advanced in
view of locally-suited heat tolerant and water use efficient crops and
livestock to lessen production limiting effects of climate change but
these programmes need to be accelerated as the effects of climate are
a reality; services are the multiple benefits provided by ecosystems
to humans.
(ii) The need for increased food production to provide sufficient food for
an increasing population has contributed towards the evolution of
agriculture from traditional to modern intensive systems. This
intensive agricultural production systems increased environmental
degradation as a result of its expansion into forests and marginal
lands, poor management practices, etc. Equally, market access and
demands, policies of economic and agricultural development, social and
demographic factors have contributed towards the loss of biological
diversity. Such loss may be accompanied by the loss of the cultural
diversity of traditional communities and their impoverishment.
(iii) In addition to the development of Drought Management Plan by
DAFF, the department is conducting research through agencies such as
the ARC and research institutions on mitigation and adaptation options
for agricultural production. DAFF is encouraging best farming
practices such as diversification, selection of crops with shorter
germination period and shorter growing season a well as developing new
breeds for livestock and crop in order to adapt to the changed
environment particularly in dry land farming areas. Furthermore, best
farming practices are aimed at sustainable agricultural production.