1. Profiling Water Insecurity and its Impacts on Agricultural Practices and Rural Livelihoods in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa.
- Author
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Baleni, Xumile, Obioha, Emeka, and Mugari, Ishmael
- Subjects
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AGRICULTURE , *GROUNDWATER , *WATER harvesting , *WATER shortages , *WATER quality - Abstract
South Africa is facing a crisis in providing adequate clean water in its respective rural areas, townships and informal settlements. In this study, we explored the citizens' perceptions of water insecurity in South African rural areas, and the effects of water conflict on agricultural practices and livelihoods. The study adopted a quantitative study and utilised a systematic simple random sampling in selecting 90 respondents who provided data through a questionnaire survey. Data analysis was carried out using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Findings revealed that water insecurity manifests through poor quality water, absence of provision of water by rural municipalities, and reliance on unsafe water sources such as dams and rivers. Limited production for smallscale business farmers, a rise in poverty and high hunger incidents were considered the major impacts of water scarcity. The study concludes that rural households in the Eastern Cape Province are water insecure, which negatively affects livelihoods and agricultural practices. The study recommends investment in water harvesting infrastructure, tapping of underground water through borehole drilling and investment in irrigation infrastructure as measures to deal with water insecurity in rural communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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