Cape Town - Wheat farmers in the Western Cape have been hard hit by this year’s dry winter and stand to lose millions of rand in what they say is the worst drought in decades.
The drought will have a knock-on effect on the Cape economy, particularly towns and businesses in rural areas.
Carl Opperman, chief executive of Agri-WesCape, said the Swartland had experienced its driest winter rainfall season in 75 years, while farmers in the Sandveld region along the West Coast said they were experiencing the worst drought since 1957.
Opperman said some farmers in the Sandveld region estimated that they were facing losses of R3 million a hectare.
“The lack of rain hit the agricultural sector hard, and both emerging farmers and commercial producers are equally affected. If the water levels in dams don’t rise soon, residents in urban areas will also be feeling the impact through water restrictions.”
The dams in the Ceres region were between 40 and 50 percent full. Some farmers, particularly those who grew potatoes, were considering whether or not it was wise to plant crops, while those who grew onions would produce a limited crop. This area usually receives about 600mm of rain, mostly in the winter months, but to date has got just under half of this.
Opperman called on all the role-players in the value chain that supported primary agriculture to get together to work out how the next 18 months to two years should be managed.
“All tiers of government must take note that the drought will have a domino effect on rural towns, residents and businesses. Agri-WesCape also urges municipalities that are currently discussing property rates and taxes, to engage in conversation with us, especially with regard to agriculture’s ability to pay,” Opperman said.
Wheat in the Cape is known as dryland farming, as the crops depend on rain and are not grown under irrigation. Earlier this year, Opperman described the situation as a “green drought” as early winter rains had meant there was enough moisture for farmers to plant their crops, most of which sprouted. However, poor follow-up rains in many areas meant crops were threatened.
Farmers had been holding out for good late winter rains, but these had not materialised.
The long-term forecast is that there is a “cautiously high” likelihood of the country experiencing drier and warmer conditions in the early summer season, which may promote regional droughts. The combined level of Cape dams is 73 percent full.
Another concern is that the level of farm dams is also low in many areas, particularly in the deciduous fruit-growing area.
CAPE TIMES