Nature-based Solutions for transforming smallholder farming systems that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change in South Africa

South African smallholder farmers rely on rainfall, made more erratic by climate change, and lack access to climate-risk informed agricultural advisory services to enhance their adaptive capacity. The impacts of increased temperatures and variable rainfall, and recently the COVID-19 pandemic, are exacerbating existing vulnerabilities at the smallholder level, where agriculture is a vital source of livelihoods. The proposed project will adopt a participatory, action-learning approach using nature-based solutions to enhance the resilience of smallholder farmers in vulnerable catchments in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and possibly Limpopo in South Africa. This will be achieved through: i) providing tailored climate information and services through the development of a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System; ii) using nature-based solutions to transform smallholder farming systems to adapt to climate impacts and sustain adaptation investments; and iii) developing cross-cutting capacity to embed and upscale transformative adaptation approaches.