Province’s food security could be at risk if good rains don’t fall soon
THE WESTERN Cape’s food security could be at risk if the province does not receive enough rain in the next two months, according to Ceres witlof (Belgian endive) grower Fanie van der Merwe.
He said the drought in the Op-Die-Berg area of the Koue Bokkeveld was the worst in 100 years, and thousands of seasonal jobs were in danger of being lost.
“Apples and pears are long-term crops. It takes about seven years from planting a tree to its first harvest. If we don’t get good rains, and I mean more than 15 centimetres of rain at a time, the seasonal jobs of 1 500 people in our area alone are at risk, as there won’t be fruit on the trees to pick,” he said.
“Two years ago, we improved our irrigation and moisture-measuring technology, so we are being as efficient as we possibly can. Typically, annual rainfall in our area is about 650mm, but so far we have had only 180mm.”
Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said on Friday that although some summer rainfall regions, such as the Free State, North West and Mpumalanga, were recovering, the situation remained critical in the Western Cape.
“We are preparing for significant longterm impacts in high-value export industries, such as our pome and stone fruit industries, which were already reporting lowered export volumes compared to last year, and these could lose up to R300 million in income with current water shortages in the region,” he said at the release of the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy Baseline 2017 to 2026 report.
Winde said the report illustrated the importance of irrigation schemes, and that, without access to water, 36 000 jobs would be threatened in the Berg River and Riviersonderend areas.
“These trends underscore the need for strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change, which is why we have partnered with the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning and the private sector to develop the SmartAgri plan.”
Winde said the report highlighted the importance of investing in research and development to increase production.
Wessel Lemmer, a senior agricultural economist at Absa, said South Africa had lost nearly 30% of its farmland in the past two decades because of water scarcity.
“Recently, the Western Cape has seen the worst drought to hit the region in the past century. Deciduous fruit growers in the province feel increased pressure to conserve water as rainfall becomes less predictable and other industries demand a greater share of piped water. This means that farmers face the challenge of producing more fruit, while reducing the impact they have on the province’s water supply.”
Lemmer said farmers on the continent were increasingly using mobile solutions to source buyers and obtain the best prices for their produce.
“Simple changes in practices can result in better efficiencies, reduced impact on the environment, and farmland less prone to climatic changes, all of which have a positive influence on production yields. In coping with increasing populations, and for our fragile ecosystem experiencing more frequent droughts, modern technologies will continue to impact on farming methods,” Lemmer said.