Power cuts: Looming crises in agriculture

Planting season is in full swing, and the concern of power cuts being implemented result in farmers planting less, owing to rising costs and disruption in planting and irrigation schedules.

Just the other day, I was driving with a farmer on his farm, where he shared
his concerns of power cuts with me and told me that he now has no choice but to install solar power on his farm if he is to survive in this business.
Power cuts are extremely detrimental to irrigation operators, as crop water
requirements cannot be met. This leads to significant reductions in yields. The gross incompetence at Eskom has a major cost implication to many farmers and their businesses. Implementing alternative energy sources on an average farming operation won’t be a cheap exercise.

It is not only the primary producers who are affected, but every operator in
the value chain, from input suppliers to processors. Obviously, the more farmers, processors and other players in the value chain are squeezed on their profits, the more expensive food becomes and the greater the pressure on consumers, especially the poor. Loadshedding causes massive financial losses for farmers in Southern Africa, and contributes directly to a spike in food waste.

Electricity is a vital component for all stages of the food production process – without it, food spoils must be discarded. Food waste increases with load shedding, as refrigeration units stop working in our homes, our cold storage facilities, our dairies, our butcheries, in shops and in hotels, to name a few. Electricity is vital for all stages of the food production process – without it, food spoils and must be discarded. Moreover, power cuts present security risks.

Alternative power from solar panels or from backup generators, is costly.
If a farmer with a big operation complains about the cost of setting himself up with solar power, we can only imagine how difficult things are for small-scale and emerging farmers.

By using alternative energy sources farmers can free themselves from
dealing with the woeful performance of government-run electricity providers, and it is much more sustainable. Farmers who switch to using
renewable energy are taking action to mitigate climate change and keep the
planet and its resources stable. Read more on page 40.

ProAgri greetings

Bianca Henning – bianca@proagri.co.za