The increasing cost of the crippling drought
Cattle herds being cut; fruit yields and citrus exports drop
THE WESTERN Cape Department of Agriculture has set aside R73 million for farmers in the past year to mitigate the impact of drought on jobs and the agriculture in the province. Western Cape Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said yesterday that agricultural economists from the department were projecting a R112m decrease in GVA (gross value add) and a possible drop of 1 728 available seasonal work opportunities as a result of the water restrictions.
Winde said the drought had already forced some farmers to scale down production, particularly crop production.
“This may have contributed to slower growth in jobs in this sector,” Winde said. “However, we have worked to mitigate the impact of the drought on jobs, in part through our commitment to assisting farmers to get through this time and due to the efforts of farmers in adopting conservation agriculture.”
The Western Cape has been in the grip of a devastating drought that saw authorities last month declaring the province a disaster area, urging residents to manage water supplies more effectively.
The drought has affected crop production and hit deciduous and citrus fruit exports.
Winde said that since the launch of Project Khulisa in 2015, jobs in agriculture and agri processing increased 8%.
Data from Statistics South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force report last week also showed that there were 215 300 people employed in primary agriculture, 144 966 as agri-processing support workers including security guards, cooks and cleaners, totalling 423 824 people or 17.6% of all people employed in the province, an increase of 32 847 since the first quarter of 2015.
Winde said that in the past two years, drought, high temperatures, floods and hail had led to significant losses in agriculture including the loss of 200 000 tons of wheat because of insufficient rain during the 2015 winter, a 15% decrease in fruit production in 2015/16 incurring an estimated loss of R750m and the loss of 230 hectares of potatoes which could not be planted because of lack of water.
Winde added that for livestock, the department estimates that more than 30 000 animals had been sold as farmers battle to feed their core herds, while the decline of 5% in the wine grapes harvested last year because of high temperatures and lack of irrigation water amounted to an estimated (loss of ) R500m.
“We have reallocated our Equitable Share budget to continue our support to farmers, and we have purchased over 105 tons of animal fodder,” he said.
“However, we estimate a shortfall of R96m to cover assistance for farmers for a period of five months.”