Farmer earns master’s degree to aid drought resilience
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Charl Johannes van der Merwe, an 80-year-old sheep farmer from Leeukloof, South Africa, recently earned a Master of Commerce in economics from the University of Cape Town.
Van der Merwe turned decades of experience managing droughts in the Upper Karoo region into research focused on helping farmers survive climate shocks. He initially pursued further education as a long-held dream, but his studies evolved to address the practical need for drought-related research and information sharing among farmers.
After completing an initial degree in agriculture in 1968, Van der Merwe prioritised his family farm, but continued his education part-time, eventually earning multiple degrees. He began his latest qualification after retiring from active farming, wanting to remain purposeful. His master’s dissertation, Economic Analysis of Sheep Farmers’ Responses to Drought in the Upper Karoo, 2013 to 2023, examined how farmers coped with a recent severe drought and ways to improve future resilience.
Van der Merwe’s research revealed that commercial sheep farmers in the Upper Karoo lost close to 45% of their livestock between 2017 and 2021. The drought also caused psychological distress for many farmers, with nearly 75% showing signs of depression or anxiety, though approximately 60% of those farmers recovered emotionally within two years of rainfall returning.
He found that many farmers received limited government assistance during the drought and believes technology and innovation, including drought insurance, should play a greater role in supporting them. He hopes his work will contribute to a legacy of knowledge for future generations of farmers in the region.
