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Keywords: water quality; farming practices; transboundary waters; rural
Project summary
This WPE project explores the conditions under which technological and collective action measures taken by farmers may improve water quality and enhance the stock of freshwater available to various sectors – agriculture, industry, and residential – within society to promote sustainable farming practices in rural communities in South Africa and Botswana.
The Limpopo and Eastern Cape provinces are selected given their importance in terms of farming practices and water pollution in South Africa. Additionally, both South Africa and Botswana are riparian states that share the Limpopo river basin alongside Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Therefore by choosing farmers located within the Limpopo catchment, we lay down the foundation that might support regional initiates within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) space that aim at addressing environmental challenges that affect agricultural productivity and rural development.