DETERMINANTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES AMONG EMERGING COMMERCIAL MAIZE FARMERS IN LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

Unless farmers mitigate climate-related risks, climate change will interrupt food security and agricultural sustainability.The study aimed to analyse the strategies adopted by emerging maize farmers in the Limpopo province of South Africa to respond to climate-related risks to ensure sustainable production, food security, and improved income.Primary data were collected from 288 randomly selected farmers through a semi-structured questionnaire.Descriptive statistics and a fractional response model were used to analyse the data in STATA version 14.The analysis results revealed that education, the type of labour employed, reduction in the area of cultivated farmland due to climate-related risks, and income from farming diversification constituted the determinants of climate change adaptation strategies among the study area's emerging commercial maize farmers.The study recommends that the government develop policies based on the aforementioned determinants to promote the adoption of climate change adaptation strategies among emerging commercial farmers for sustainable food production and improved income.