Wednesday, 28 June 2023
By: Liana Mocke
Load shedding levels may be lower in winter, but consumers cannot relax because Eskom plans to carry out a significant amount of maintenance work during the summer. This is cause for concern, especially among irrigation farmers.
Three-quarters of farmers have had to adapt their practices to manage load shedding, according to an Agri SA survey of the effects of power cuts.
Some 39% of farmers say crop yields are lower due to load shedding, and 31% of livestock farmers say they have reduced animal numbers.
Speaking at the start of the Western Cape energy forum, agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said the survey also found that 56% of producers lost income due to load shedding.
“We need to find local solutions to local problems; the time to wait for the national government to provide them is over,” Meyer said.
This was why he had asked the energy forum to examine the impact of load shedding on the agricultural sector in the province, and find solutions.
Intensive operations severely affected
Economist Bhekani Zondo of the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) said load shedding is affecting all parts of the agricultural industry, with the poultry, pork, dairy, fruit and vegetable sectors hardest hit.
“The effects of load shedding are also uniform across small, medium and large-scale farms, and its impact on the sector threatens public and private efforts to promote inclusive growth and competition in the agricultural sector.
“With approximately 16% maize, 15% soybeans, 35% sugarcane and 35% grains being irrigated, load shedding significantly drives up the production costs for these farmers.”
Diesel bills remain high
The NAMC relayed findings from the departmental task team of Thoko Didiza, the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, which was established earlier in the year. Its investigation, which surveyed 494 respondents, also examined the effects of load shedding on producers.
According to the findings, producers are spending thousands of rand on diesel each month. Smaller farmers are spending an average of R10 000, while at the commercial level the bill can reach R100 000.
Profitability severely affected
The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP), in its presentation on how load shedding is affecting agriculture in the Western Cape, told the forum that although electricity is a relatively small expense in the total costs of primary agriculture (3.4%) and agro-processing (1.4%), the predictability of access to energy is crucially important.
For example, the primary agricultural sector’s demand for electricity is much higher in summer, especially for irrigation, while agro-processing requires constant electricity throughout the year.
Therefore, load shedding adds significant additional costs for both, as alternative energy sources are much more expensive, and leads to unnecessary losses for agro-processing companies and farmers.
