Durban - KWAZULU-NATAL farming associations say the ongoing load shedding is having a major impact on their operations.
The Milk Producers’ Organisation (MPO) in KZN said the process of milking cows and cooling milk was severely affected by load shedding.
Luke Gibbs, chairperson of the MPO in KZN, said some dairy farmers had noted a drop in the production of milk due to the effect of load shedding.
He said dairy farming involved two important processes which needed a constant and stable supply of electricity.
“The first process is the milking process and the second process is the cooling of the milk, and both these processes rely on electricity and this is being affected by load shedding.
“I’ve spoken to many dairy farmers and they are relying heavily on generators to carry out these processes as the power supply is too unstable.
“We need to have set times where the load shedding is for four hours straight and then the power doesn’t go off again. This is the only sustainable way for dairy farmers.”
Gibbs added that the constant power cuts were also affecting irrigation.
“We need water to grow food for the cows. Irrigation allows us to supply water to land to grow food and unfortunately, it is affected by the load shedding. Irrigation is important as the rains are not always consistent.
“In December we had good rains but unfortunately the past 10 days in January we didn’t have good rain.
“There is no easy solution to this problem. We all have to come together as farming associations and with the government, and work together to find solutions.”
Sandy La Marque, CEO of the KZN Agricultural Union (Kwanalu), said the organisation was extremely concerned about the severe impact that load shedding was having on the agricultural sector.
She said a wide range of farming activities were being affected by load shedding.
“The constant disruptions to farming activities are impacting on food security, safety and security on farms, provision of water to animals and irrigation systems, production lines and cold chains are disrupted; the severe impact list goes on and on. In addition, there are reports of slow and limited assistance when there are breakdowns, recurring maintenance issues (for example repeated phase failures are unattended); again the list goes on.”
La Marque added that Kwanalu planned to engage with Eskom about the challenges facing farmers.
“Kwanalu is meeting with Eskom next week where farmer representatives will meet to discuss critical and life-threatening issues.
“The agricultural sector has a number of proposed solutions and, while we are committed, we urgently seek quick interventions and short, medium and long-term solutions.”
SA Canegrowers CEO Thomas Funke said load shedding was having a significant effect on irrigation growers in the sugar cane industry.
“These growers need continuous hours of electricity to properly irrigate their crops. Due to load shedding, they currently only have intermittent power.
“The result of this disruption will be a loss of sugar cane yield, directly affecting growers’ revenue. In an already difficult business environment for sugar cane growers, this additional constraint is devastating.”
Funke added that SA Canegrowers was collating data on the extent of the problem and said ongoing engagements with industry partners and the government was taking place in a bid to “find urgent solutions so we can protect the one million livelihoods the industry supports”.
“Potential solutions include reduced load shedding for irrigated areas, a rebate on diesel for own power generation, and streamlining of administrative processes to encourage own power generation.”
Mervyn Abrahams, programme co-ordinator at the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group, said the agricultural sector was dealing with significant challenges which would affect food prices.
“Farmers have already dealt with a lot with the high price of fertiliser and high price of diesel. Undoubtedly, the load shedding will impact farmers’ operations leading to higher costs for foods, which will filter through to the consumer. We can expect to see higher food costs in the next six months.”
Abrahams added that it was concerning that the high food prices could rise above inflation.
“It’s not a good outlook as this could lead to another interest rate hike and this is not something the consumer wants to see at the moment.
“We must also remember that the load shedding is affecting the consumer, preventing buying in bulk as they can’t keep food in freezers for long periods.
“All of this has a negative impact on the economy.”