Farmers' perceptions of climate change and adaptation strategies in South Africa's Western Cape

摘要: Abstract Climate change poses a serious threat to South Africa's agricultural sector. Implementing adaptation strategies is thus crucial secure future production and rural livelihoods. To support effective adaptation, it necessary understand how farmers, as primary land-use decision-makers, perceive respond climate change. We conducted semi-structured interviews examine behaviour by commercial grain wine grape farmers in water-scarce, recently drought-stricken region of Western Cape. Specifically, we investigated (1) change, (2) which factors influence their adaptive (3) they apply farming practices, whether these are medium long-term or short-term coping strategies. Through the resulting discourses, found that most have observed regional changes climate, such rainfall patterns, increasing temperatures extreme climatic events. Farmers' influenced previous experience stresses internal factors, including risk perception, perceived capacity cognitive biases. Institutional biophysical constraints lack government soil composition external barriers adaptation. Most implemented on farms, alterations crop management, harvest planting time, rotations water conservation techniques. However, planned fewer impacts than current Current mostly technological address direct stressors, although go beyond farm scale into society. These findings may important implications for policy making this region, given place-specific institutional identified strategic importance Cape African agriculture.