Johannesburg - Food supplies – particularly of fruit and vegetables – are wilting as the severe drought tightens its hold on the country.
And it’s going to get worse – so brace yourselves for potential food shortages in the coming months.
“At this point, the only noticeable change is that the shelf-life of fresh produce is being compromised as a result of the extremely high temperatures,” Sandros Gastaldi, regional director of Food Lover’s Market said.
“We’re also starting to notice shortages in certain leafy vegetables, such as spinach, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.”
He warned that “produce will become scarcer because farmers won’t be able to plant”.
Josiah Mazibuko, the acting chief executive of the Joburg Fresh Produce Market, said they, too, were being affected by the heat, and that this could “significantly reduce the yields in the coming months”.
Senzeni Zokwana, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said 14 million people were already at risk of malnutrition and hunger, and that a drought would exacerbate the situation.
Professor Mary Scholes from the department of animal, plant and environmental sciences at Wits University, said the impact of the drought would vary across households: “Food security needs to be analysed at a household level and not only at a country or regional level.”
She warned consumers to start buying in bulk. “If people have money they should buy festive foods now. It will be a very long, hot and dry summer. Food shortages may last into the new year.”
Dirk van Rensburg, a Free State maize and sunflower farmer for the past 40 years, said he couldn’t imagine what would happen “if it doesn’t rain within the next two weeks”.
Thabi Nkosi, a senior economist at AgriSA, said while there was no cause for panic, consumers must brace themselves for higher food prices.
Saturday Star