The Western Cape government on Tuesday launched a comprehensive climate change response strategy called Smart Agri, which aims to to combat the impact of extreme weather events on the province’s agriculture sector.

Smart Agri was unveiled by provincial Economic Opportunities Minister Alan Winde and provincial Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Minister Anton Bredell.
 
The Western Cape government believed that trends, such as a rise in yearly temperatures were rising and the increasing prevalence of droughts, floods and heat waves in the province, highlighted the need for a coordinated response from government and the private sector to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Using scenario planning, SmartAgri predicted detailed outcomes for a series of possible situations, which included droughts, heat waves and cold spells.

The plan explored two scenarios, namely the low road, where climate change mitigation plans were not coordinated, and the high road, where risks and opportunities were identified and action plans implemented.
 
The SmartAgri plan puts forward six priorities to be driven by government and industry as solutions. These included conservation agriculture, restoring degraded landscapes, Improved catchment management for water, security and job creation, energy efficiency, climate-proofing the Western Cape’s agriprocessing sector, and integrated knowledge systems for climate smart practices.

“SmartAgri is the most authoritative source of information for how climate change will affect our future. It also details concrete action plans for how we can mitigate these threats to build a sustainable agricultural sector that is able to withstand the climate of our future. Our job is to ensure that this plan lands across the Western Cape,” said Winde.
 
Smart Agri was the result of two years of extensive collaboration and engagement between the Western Cape government, the University of Cape Town’s African Climate and Development Initiative and a range of private-sector stakeholders.
 
The provincial government’s research and assessment showed that, if not addressed, climate change would have a negative impact on the Western Cape region.
  
“Recently, we have had severe floods, droughts and heat waves. These events cost our economy over R3-billion,” said Winde, adding that Smart Agri showed that these events were likely to increase in frequency, underscoring the need for urgent action to protect the Western Cape’s agriculture sector from the threat of climate change.

“If we do not act, potential jobs and revenue are on the line,” said Winde.

Bredell agreed that extreme weather events were threatening food security and economic growth.

“We have many vulnerable communities facing extreme levels of poverty, [while] the economy, [and] health and housing challenges are compounded by climate change. If not addressed swiftly and rigorously, climate change and its effects will impact on basic things like food and water and networks that our economic activities depend on,” he stated.
 
Bredell further pointed out, however, that climate change challenges could be addressed and turned into opportunities, if government was well prepared with science-based decision-making support.
 
“A strategic and inclusive approach is required to build long-term resilience to climate change through climate-smart agriculture,” he said.