Embrace technology for sustainability

Dr Dirk Troskie, director of business, planning and strategy, Western Cape Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Writers SA’s Agriculturist of the Year award-winner.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF 2023?

Where farmers used to be taken for granted, consumers have become more aware of their importance because of the spike in food prices and occasional shortages that have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agriculture industry has also been the only sector in South Africa that has grown every quarter since the pandemic, and while farmers were struggling with higher input costs they were benefitting from better farm-gate prices.

On the downside, the Western Cape was subjected to heavy rains and storms in June and in September that brought widespread flood damage. More disconcerting, floods usually have only occured once in a decade in the province, while now we had two in one year.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS MAJOR THREATS FOR 2024?

El Niño might not have a huge impact on the winter rainfall area, but it could lead to dry conditions that might take their toll on production in the summer

rainfall region. The capacity of the Port of Cape Town has not grown at the same pace as fruit production in the Western Cape, and this is threatening exports.

In the past, fruit could be diverted to the Durban and Koega ports; however, these ports are also experiencing challenges.

Animal disease outbreaks, such as avian influenza, foot-and-mouth disease, and African swine fever, among others, are a major concern.

Livestock farmers should strengthen their farm biosecurity as far as possible to protect their animals and prevent the spreading of diseases.

Load-shedding is another major risk for farmers.

Fruit farmers have been fortunate not to have experienced stage 6 load-shedding during heat waves up until now.

Irrigation farmers will also suffer much higher losses than they have experienced if they are unable to supply their orchards with enough water during heat waves.

And then there is the weather, which can bring even more uncertainty.

HOW CAN FARMERS REDUCE RISKS?

Through the adoption of new technologies, to help them make better informed decisions and use inputs more efficiently, and diversify, for instance, with ecotourism.

SHOULD FARMERS BE AFRAID OF THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION?

No, it promises to bring new efficiencies. It will result in job shedding, but will also create many new valuable job opportunities. A farmer’s first priority is to make money and second, to farm in a way that preserves natural resources for future generations to farm the land. He can do this with technology.

IF YOU WERE PRESIDENT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?

I would interfere less and give the private sector room to solve challenges, and by creating an environment that enables the industry to grow. –

The past year has been a challenging one for the sugar industry broadly and for canegrowers in particular.

With Tongaat Hulett and Gledhow mills placed in business rescue at the end of 2022, growers found themselves facing great uncertainty. This was exacerbated by the default of the millers on their industry obligations, decreasing the final return value price last season by more than R400/t of sugar cane.

Amid these challenges, growers showed their resilience, continuing to maintain operations and sustain much-needed jobs in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. This year, the industry continued to deliver on its commitment to invest R1 billion in transformation funding over a fiveyear period. SA Canegrowers also launched the digital phase of its Home Sweet Home campaign, encouraging consumers to buy locally produced

sugar in order to protect the one million livelihoods that the industry supports.

Thanks to the tenacity of the industry, the year now ends with a victory in the High Court requiring Tongaat Hulett to honour its industry commitments.

TURNING POINT

This momentous judgment will hopefully mark a turning point for the industry, ushering in a year of stability and growth for growers and our industry partners. In 2024, we hope to see the business rescue processes at the two mills concluded positively, enabling them to continue operations in a more efficient and sustainable way. We further hope to have the opportunity to engage government on the development of a second phase to the masterplan, and on the need to revisit the devastating sugar tax that has contributed to the perilous state of the industry. We are confident that, through constructive dialogue, we can find common ground on which to build the future of the industry.