Expert: BRICS countries need to strengthen agricultural knowledge exchange

Effective support for farmers facing the impacts of climate change requires a comprehensive scientific foundation, including laboratory and field testing as well as socio-economic analysis. BRICS countries need to exchange successful agricultural practices more actively, while solutions for farmers should be developed on the basis of scientific research. This was stated by Phokela Maponya, Professor at the BRICS Research Institute (Pretoria), in the TV BRICS programme BRICSdialogue.

Professor Maponya noted that, in South Africa, as in other BRICS countries, there is a clear distinction between different categories of agricultural producers. Well-resourced farmers actively use weather forecasting systems, insure their crops and manage water resources, enabling them to cope more effectively with climate-related risks. At the same time, small-scale family farms with limited resources rely on a range of adaptation strategies to address the impacts of climate change.

"What are they doing? They swerve sometimes from livestock to crop production, you know; some even change their planting days to make sure that they adapt. Some, you know, have this water management strategy, rainfall harvesting, you know, rooftop harvesting. These are some of the strategies that they are doing to maximise the energy in terms of climate variability," the expert explained.

Professor Maponya stressed that supporting farmers is impossible without a solid research base. He explained that the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) operates specialised laboratories where scientists investigate crop-related challenges, pests and diseases.

"It's a very important question because you can’t support or make any intervention to the farmers or the community without the research or scientific base. We have what you call 'socio-economic assessments'. We encourage farmers to farm to sell, not just to farm. And most of our produce is just lost through post-harvest. We go to the communities, we talk to them, we ask them questions, and we assess them to identify gaps. It could be gaps, training gaps. Some of them are not well trained. So, you need to identify those training gaps before you intervene or before you support them," Maponya said.

According to the expert, agricultural advisory services play a crucial role in disseminating scientific solutions by connecting research institutions with local communities. Following practical implementation, specialists assess the long-term impact, while farmers receive the necessary resources, training and market recommendations based on the data collected.

Maponya also emphasised that BRICS countries should learn from one another. He noted that some member states, particularly Brazil, have achieved significant success in ensuring food security and that this experience could benefit other BRICS countries. Researchers in South Africa are currently studying Russia's strengths in this field, which was one of the reasons behind the establishment of the BRICS Research Institute.