Joburg - As President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers his State of the Nation Address (Sona) this week, Agri SA says the only way to guarantee food security in South Africa will be an announcement of immediate action by the government and Eskom to alleviate the crippling burden of load shedding on farmers.
As a result of the growing food security concern, Agri SA has submitted a letter to the National Disaster Management Centre that details the far-reaching implications of load shedding for grains, livestock, poultry, fruit, vegetables, sugar and edible oils, among other things.
Christo Van der Rheede, who is the chief executive of Agri SA, reveals that without urgent action, South Africans can expect crop failure, higher food prices and shortages of certain food products soon.
The organisation says the state of disaster alone will not stave off this threat; what is required is targeted relief.
“Load shedding more than doubled between January and September 2022 compared with the same period in 2021. As a result of this catastrophe, the agricultural sector lost more than R23 billion during the nine months under review. This loss could be exceeded in 2023, threatening the sustainability of the sector and the 800 000 jobs it provides.”
Agri SA called on Ramaphosa to ensure that the following measures are carried out.
1. Declare the agricultural sector and its associated value chain an essential service.
2. Partially exempt the agricultural sector from load shedding beyond the stage.
3. Allow for higher rebates on diesel and petrol used for electricity generation.
4. Amend the current tariff structure to reduce the cost of electricity during peak times.
5. Trade load shedding schedules using a local feasibility study (a tiered approach can be taken, using red, orange and green to identify critical areas).
6. Rapidly expand load curtailment to all agricultural areas that qualify in terms of the user mix.
“Unless these measures are implemented, a catastrophe looms for the country because of load shedding. Farming operations will be disrupted as equipment is damaged due to power failures; the cost of food production will increase as farmers are forced to irrigate at peak prices; and labour costs will soar due to irregular work hours based on load shedding schedules,” says the organisation.
“At the same time, meat producers will be unable to pump water for their cattle or to slaughter and process their livestock and poultry. Agro-processing and retail will also suffer as packing and cooling operations fail. The result of all this for food affordability and availability will be devastating.”
The organisation further says Ramaphosa has the opportunity to lead the effort to find solutions by recognising the magnitude of the threat to the nation if food security fails.
The Star