Food prices could be affected because of the heavy rains across agricultural land in the Western Cape that are causing havoc with crops.
CAPE TOWN – Food prices could be affected because of the heavy rains across agricultural land in the Western Cape that are causing havoc with crops.
There are also concerns for jobs in the sector because of flooded farms and the impact on exports.
Department of Agriculture head of communications Mary James said the department received approximately 203 responses via the flood damage assessment link of damages incurred within the agricultural sector.
She said these had mainly come from the West Coast and Cape Winelands Districts.
“Farmers are concerned about the damages to their crops and that this will compromise the export quality of their produce. Damage to road infrastructure made it almost impossible for access to affected farms,” James said.
She added this would have a “massive” impact on production.
“As it is, it’s harvest season for a number of commodities, especially citrus, and the floods have affected the harvests. Feedback to date shows table and wine grapes, blueberries, citrus trees, vineyards, mandarins, blueberries and stone fruit are just some of the crops being damaged or destroyed.”
Speaking in the legislature, ANC agriculture spokesperson Pat Marran said the devastating impact of recent floods on the Western Cape’s citrus and potato harvests had the potential to incur significant financial losses for farmers and farm workers.
“Recognising the urgency of the situation, we call upon the provincial government to swiftly intervene and provide necessary support to those affected.”
Marran called for immediate assistance, including financial aid, infrastructure repairs, and access to resources and said this would be crucial to mitigate the economic burden imposed on agricultural communities.
“By taking prompt action, the government can help safeguard the livelihoods of our farmers and ensure the continued stability and productivity of our agricultural sector,” Marran said.
Agribiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo said: “As the winter season continues, there is likely to be additional rainfall in the Western Cape and coastal regions, possibly not as destructive as recent ones,”
He said the winter rains would support winter crops, wine grapes, and various horticulture.
Agri Western Cape CEO Jannie Strydom said the main commodity impacted by the flooding was the citrus industry.
“And that is majorly because of access to orchards, access to farms, and to transport the produce from the farms to pack houses and cooling facilities. Some vegetables in the Sandveld area such as potato were also impacted.
“We don’t foresee at this stage an increase in price and cost for the consumer and exports will definitely be affected but like I said, the commodity organisations will determine exactly the amount in terms of what the exports will be impacted at this stage. We don’t have the figures regarding that.”
Women on Farms Project (WOFP) director Colette Solomon highlighted the particular vulnerability of seasonal women farmworkers as a result of the adverse weather conditions.
Solomon said they’ve received reports from mostly Rawsonville, De Doorns, Paarl, and Witzenberg areas of affected seasonal women farmworkers.
“For the majority of women seasonal workers who would have been busy with various winter activities in the vineyards on wine and table grape farms during this time, they have reported that the vineyards and even the orchards for other fruits have been flooded and so therefore for the past couple of weeks, women seasonal workers have not been able to work.
“Obviously, this means that they have not earned any income for the last two weeks or so that the vineyards have been flooded.”
Luckily, the grape harvest ended in March/April.
The province estimates the damage caused by the recent heavy rains could hit R1 billion.
MEC for Agriculture Ivan Meyer said the province faces a massive disaster following the devastating floods.
Meyer said last week that the floods had left the agriculture and farming community, especially on the West Coast, in dire straits.
“We are facing a massive disaster; all the people working on the West Coast are employed in the agriculture sector. The farming community in this area just came out of Covid-19, which had a substantial negative impact on this region.
“Then it was followed by the implications of the war in Ukraine, which had a massive negative knock-on effect on the production capability of agriculture.”
