‘Farming practises need to adapt to survive climate change’, says PMB farmer
After scraping through the Covid-19 pandemic, surviving the July unrest, and being battered by last year’s April floods, a local farmer has once again been dealt another blow this week by the changing weather patterns.
Shakti Satyapal, CEO of Roadway Farms, situated just outside Pietermaritzburg, was one of the many farmers who suffered devastating damage to his crops in the storms that wreaked havoc on parts of the province this week.
The frequency of these devastating storms has now prompted him to seriously relook at his farming methods and ways he can protect his farm from storms as they become more prevalent due to climate change.
A year after recovering from the destruction caused by the floods last April, this week, Satyapal said the weather once again has brought him down to his knees.
“The wind and rainfall were both incredibly intense. There was also small hail, which caused a lot of damage. Several of our crops were destroyed and many of our fields have been flooded,” he said.
Describing the devastation as profound, he said thousands of newly-planted seedlings were washed away by the run-off.
“Our entire lettuce and spinach crops were completely destroyed. There was substantial damage to our mealies, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage as well, but only time will tell if they will survive and produce a sellable product,” he said.
Satyapal added that it was difficult to estimate the cost of the damage. “Our revenue from spinach, for example, would have been R10 000 to R20 000 per week. This would have continued for several weeks. We also planted close to forty thousand heads of lettuce. At a cost of R10 per head, you are looking at a loss of approximately R400 000,” he said.
Satyapal added that this was without taking into account the cost of labour, input and diesel.
“Several of our other plants were completely damaged, which will now bear no produce. This is challenging to estimate, as there are hundreds of thousands of plants in the fields,” said Satyapal.
He added that the farm had to weather other literal and figurative storms over the past few years.
“Covid-19 in general was bad for business and this was not unique to the food industry. Many people were forced to stay at home to keep the virus under control, and in doing so, were not able to earn as much money. This had negatively impacted the business,” he said.
When the July unrest hit, he again survived the fear of being looted, while all the other farms around him fell victim, and despite having no staff, bravely continued to supply his customers and community with food throughout that week when food security fell under grave threat.
Despite all these challenges, Satyapal is determined to ensure his farm will persevere.
“We have no choice but to continue. These consecutive blows have been devastating to business. We are resilient, determined and focused on creating a thriving farm and business once again, not only do we want to focus on our business, but we want to help lead the industry towards adaptive, regenerative and climate-smart farming practices,” he said.
Satyapal added that the rainy seasons over the past few years have caused problems on the farm.
“In addition to Covid-19, the period from October 2021 to January 2022 as well as from October 2022 to January 2023 brought an unusual amount of rainfall. These rains destroyed ninety percent of our production during peak periods, and the rains soaked the land so heavily that very little farming could be done,” he said.
He attributed the changes in weather patterns to climate change. “The worsening weather events are a result of climate change and farmers need to adapt to new methods of farming if we are to continue to grow food and sustain our livelihoods,” he said.
Going forward, Satyapal said he will be adopting better farming practices and equipment.
“Infrastructure such as shade cloth cover, warehouses and tunnels are going to play an important role in protecting our crops from events like this in the future,” he said.
“These extreme weather events are going to become more intense. We need to adapt our agricultural practices and business models to be more resilient. The participation and financial support of government is going to be crucial if we are going to produce enough for all our people in South Africa,” he warned.
The farmer said these storms don’t just affect his farm, but the community his produce feeds.
“It is heartbreaking to see your hard work get shredded by hail or washed away by rain. We do shed a tear but we bounce back and get on with the work the best we can,” said Satyapal.
Roadway Farm was established in 1990 and cultivates an assortment of vegetables like spinach, lettuce, broccoli, beans and peppers.