On June 5, 2013, the project team had the pleasure to get invited to the Lambani village in the northeastern parts of Limpopo. In order to understand the use of the drought-prediction model and how information could be disseminated to the stakeholders, we met the local representatives and discussed with them, Five women and five men received us in their village.
We had a discussion seminar around some different topics and this is some of the compiled material from the interviews.
At the workshop, the farmers were mainly crop farmers. In general, people in the region might own between 3 to 35 cows. The stakeholders mostly need information about the rainy season (when to plant). This information is received from the weather forecast. The main crops in the region are maize, beans, peanuts pumpkins, and various types of nut. If one knows it is a good year, one would plant more maize. Among the people at the workshop, no one used any irrigation scheme.
Morning discussions
Where do you get water?
We get the municipality water (piped) and from the river. Water is not received every day.
Which months are most important?
October through January
How do you decide when to plant? What is the normal planting date?
Essentially, one waits for the rains, sometimes it comes in November. If not, one waits to December, etc. through January. If it rains for five days and seems to be good enough, then one could plant.
How much does it vary?
It's very different each year. When the rain comes from the South, one shouldn't plant because it has a lot of damage. When it comes from the North it is good.
Afternoon discussions
What are the signs in nature that you recognize?
If there is a shadow around the moon, then it will be rain in the coming days. When the swallows arrive it will be rain. If it becomes very hot, it will rain tomorrow. If there are stars and astaratars (?) it is going to rain within a few months if they are close to each other. When the birds are crying, it will be a rain. If there are many (?) worms, it will be a dry year. Before planting, if locusts (grasshoppers) arrive it will be a rainy year.
If you see the signs, who do you tell?
We tell lots of people and some listen. You talk to the neighbors.
How many people recognized these signs?
A few are seeing them – mostly the old people. Some follow, some do not. They instead listen to the television. Not many are using the signs. They rely mostly on weather forecasts on the radio station.
How can early warning information be useful?
If we hear that it is going to rain, we may plant, but if we hear it will be dry, there is not much one can do. Some cannot do anything. What about those with animals? If there is a dry year – they will buy and feed early – There is not more they can do. They will not sell their animals. Some will reduce their livestock. Some wait to witness (if it is really getting dry) because sometimes what was said, does not happen. If they wait too long until it is dry, they cannot sell.
They get long-term forecasts but they are not so reliable.
What if the radio signs say different things?
They rely more on natural signs than the radio. Sometimes they are told that it will be rain, but it does not come. So they stick to the natural signs. The radio forecasts are quite local. E.g., in Lambani it is going to rain.
If they knew there would be more or less water in the river ahead of time, is it useful?
For planning when to do laundry. The cattle can go and drink the water. The flow should be medium flow, not too high.
When the soil is wetter, they would try to plant. When the soil is wet, there seeds will germinate. But they will not do any different responses.
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