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Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.

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Main Author: Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
Other Authors: Pharoah, Robyn
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
author2 Pharoah, Robyn
author_browse Pharoah, Robyn
Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
author_facet Pharoah, Robyn
Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
author_sort Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135722
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:44:27.789Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
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source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135722 Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu Pharoah, Robyn Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies. Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Tshishonga, N. 2026. Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/9321ab9b-db6b-47df-9107-a364ae77ee08 Climate change risks and consequences in Africa are now widely acknowledged as critical considerations for development organizations, particularly in terms of sustainable development, poverty reduction, and food security. The severity and frequency of cyclones, floods, and droughts have risen over the previous 20 years, with a major adverse effect on the economy globally, particularly the agricultural sector. Farmers in Africa continue to face challenges in developing resilience to floods, which adversely affects agriculture. This research aims to investigate the flood awareness and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality. The study employed a qualitative approach to explore the flood disaster awareness and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the VDM. In total 30 participants were identified through a web analysis and a snowball approach where stakeholders were asked to identify others for interviews and the qualitative data was recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically using NVivo. Findings of this study indicated majority of the participants had directly encountered flooding events. Furthermore, factors such as personal experience, education and financial resources contribute to farmers awareness and knowledge of floods. Additionally, findings indicate that farmers in all three research regions reported several flood-related issues, including increase in crop and animal illnesses, soil erosion, delayed planting, and insect infestations. Overall subsistence farmers in Tshakhuma, Thohoyandou, and Vuwani are actively responding to the challenges posed by flooding through a range of adaptation strategies, including using higher yielding crops, shortening the crop cycle, changing planting dates, mixed crop farming and indigenous knowledge. However, factors such as access to information, institutional support, and financial preparedness hinder their efforts to be prepared and resilient against flood risk. Therefore, further studies should assess the effectiveness of agricultural extension services in promoting preparedness strategies among subsistence farmers. This can include examining the training needs of extension officers, the relevance of the information provided, and the accessibility of these services to farmers. Masters 2026-04-08T14:04:21Z 2026-04-08T14:04:21Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135722 en Stellenbosch University 115 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Tshishonga, Ndimuhulu
Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title_full Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title_fullStr Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title_full_unstemmed Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title_short Flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the Vhembe District municipality in the Limpopo province
title_sort flood hazards and preparedness of subsistence farmers in the vhembe district municipality in the limpopo province
url https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135722
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