As part of its sister project, Management of Disaster Risk and Societal Resilience (MADIS), fieldwork was conducted to investigate drought impacts on small-scale farmers in South Africa and Morocco. MADIS takes a global perspective to identify key indicators for drought, and this project sought to test the relevance of the findings so far by applying them to local communities.
  • DatesDecember 2022-April 2023
  • SponsorOfficial development assistance (ODA)
  • Funded£48°ì
  • PartnersUniversity of Free State, South Africa; University Mohammed VI Polytechnic, Morocco

The project assessed the impacts of drought and coping and adaptation measures taken by small and subsistence farmers in South Africa and Morocco, with an additional workshop with Moroccan policymakers.

The impacts on water, energy and food systems were reviewed. A novel technique called fuzzy cognitive mapping (FCM) was used with the farming communities. In several workshops, participants drew 'maps' of the connections between drought indicators to help the researchers understand their response to drought and how the impacts of drought cascade and interconnect.

Progress update

The findings so far suggest an under-explored connection between drought impacts and responses to energy systems, difference between genders into the view of drought impacts and experiences, and also data to help rank drought indicators in terms of relative importance.

Further information