Heavy price as Day Zero delayed
Taps dry for farmers, consumers should expect food price hikes
ALTHOUGH DAY ZERO has been pushed back by four weeks, consumers should continue preserving water as well as prepare for higher food prices as the water supply to farmers has been curtailed.
Many of the agricultural users in the Western Cape Supply System, where the city also draws its water from, have used up the water allocated to them as per agreement with the national Department of Water and Sanitation, said Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson.
It is therefore expected that less water will be used in the agricultural sector in the coming weeks.
Agri Western Cape said: “Agriculture’s water supply has been curtailed by between 60% and 87%. In the Lower-Berg River region, producers’ water quota has been depleted. No water is available for the after-crop irrigation of orchards and vineyards.
“This will have an effect on next year’s harvest. This puts pressure on the socio-economic and economic well-being of the rural areas and the value chain.”
On red meat, Agri SA said producers in the province had been totally reliant on drought relief since November 2015.
“No more roughage is available in the Western Cape. Grazing and feed shortages resulted in massive culling, causing local red meat supply to tighten, and meat price increases as a result of the drought-induced supply shortages. To date 5% of livestock and 22% of sheep herds have been slaughtered in the Western Cape.” It warned of possible higher food prices. Janine Myburgh, president of the Cape Chamber of Commerce, said taking water from the agricultural areas of the country and flushing it down city toilets was unsustainable.
“Drip and micro irrigation systems as well as tunnels and shade cloth had produced bigger harvests with less water. Agriculture deserved more water to enable more and better food production which would, in turn, create more jobs and export earnings,” she said.
Despite the devastating drought wreaking havoc across the Western Cape, the South African Table Grape Industry (Sati) is expecting a bumper crop with almost 60 million cartons of harvest expected this period.
In a statement yesterday, the industry body said its fourth crop estimate for the 2017/2018 table grape season showed “the upper and lower limits about 16.8% and 12.2% lower, respectively, than the previous record 2016/17 season”.
Sati communications manager Clayton Swart said the Orange River region, which had enough water, had done reasonably well despite some challenges with smaller berries and lower bunch weights.
“Producers in this region are expected to practically complete packing within the next two weeks. The three regions hardest hit by the drought and heat are the Olifants, Berg and Hex River.
“The effect of the drought and heat varies between producers who are seeing a reduction of between 10% and 30% in their volumes compared to last season.”
John Ashbourne, Africa economist at Capital Economics, said the worsening drought would not be enough to “snuff out” South Africa’s economic recovery.
He said the possibility that the City of Cape Town might cut off all running water in May, would be a humanitarian crisis posing “serious risks to public health”.
“From a purely economic perspective, however, we think that the impact of this year’s drought on headline GDP growth will be relatively modest. The effect will be limited to the Western Cape (which makes up about 15% of national GDP) and will mostly hit two key industries, agriculture and tourism,” he said.
IN THE LOWER-BERG RIVER REGION, PRODUCERS’ WATER QUOTA HAS BEEN DEPLETED.