Load shedding can potentially damage more than 181 000 hectares of permanent crops planted in the Western Cape, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA).
The party’s spokesperson on agriculture Andricus van der Westhuizen, said on Monday that the replacement cost of these crops damaged by the interruptions of irrigation systems is estimated at R60.8 billion by the department.
Van der Westhuizen said this was revealed in a reply to a DA question by the Provincial department of agriculture.
Stringent process interrupted
“The world-class cold chain that has been built up by export-oriented agricultural stakeholders in the Western Cape is being compromised by relentless load shedding.
“For fruit to be of the standard required to be exported to international markets, a stringent process needs to be followed, and load shedding is clearly placing this, and by extension jobs in this supply chain, in jeopardy. Temperatures are recorded and made available to other parties in the chain, meaning any aberrations could result in an entire shipment being rejected,” he said.
He also stated that during dry summer months it is imperative that crops be watered on a schedule which has become increasingly costly and difficult to achieve.
Electricity bills of R1 million
According to him, when placing prohibitive costs of on farm electricity generation, the average Ceres farm usually has an electricity bill of R400 000 per month, but the energy bill increases to over R1 million in the event of permanent stage 2 load shedding, through the costs of diesel to run generators.
He also stated that farmers cannot afford this extra expense and would ultimately have to increase their prices which will eventually lead to more food inflation.
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Research
“The Western Cape department of agriculture has commissioned research into the short, medium and long-term effects of load shedding in the agricultural sector, with the goal of using this information to engage Eskom on how to better meet the needs of our food producers.
“The DA is concerned about the lack of action from national government in mitigating the effects of load shedding on farmers. With food security itself at risk, it is crucial that this matter be prioritised,” said Van der Westhuizen.
Political differences aside
He has urged the government to be open to solutions compiled by the provincial department of agriculture and emphasised that it was not the time to let political differences stand in the way of workable solutions to the energy crisis.
READ MORE: Risk of social instability heightened, as load shedding hammers agriculture sector
