AGRIBUSINESS
PERSPECTIVE
BYHAMLET
HLOMENDLINI
HamletHlomendliniis an
agriculturaleconomistat Absa
AgriBusiness.Emailhimat Hamlet.
[email protected].
OPINION & ANALYSIS
Western Cape drought alive and
well, despite rising dam levels
W
hile the Western Cape is
receiving good rain for the
second year in a row, the impact
of the worst drought on record in some parts
of the province is still very much evident.
Dam levels in the Western Cape are
said to have improved significantly this
winter. This is the result of the recent
rainfall experienced across the province,
especially in the Cape Town area.
The City of Cape Town announced
that dam levels in mid-July stood
at 64,1% of full capacity, up from
61,8% in the first week of July.
With continuing rainfall in the Cape Town
area, dam levels are expected to rise further,
bringing some comfort to local farmers in
the area. In July 2018, dam levels were at
56,3%, while in 2017, the year in which the
most severe drought was experienced in
the province, dam levels were at 27,2%.
Due to the recent rain, Agri Western Cape
has expressed cautious optimism that a good
wheat harvest is on the cards this season.KAROO STILL CRITICALLY DRY
Notwithstanding such a possibility, the
Western Cape agriculture sector remains
under severe pressure, as the rain has not
been widespread throughout the province.
Parts of the Central Karoo and other farming
areas are still reeling from the drought, and it
will take some time to get over these effects.
In some areas, considerable rainfall is
being recorded in mountainous areas,
where no production takes place.
While the levels of some of the province’s
dam levels are rising, conditions are
critical in most parts of the Karoo.
Some of the veld in this region could
take more than a decade to recover from
the dry conditions still prevailing there.
Even if good rain is received at this stage,
the veld will not recover completely.
Due to the drought, many livestock
farmers in parts of the Karoo have reduced
their herd numbers significantly over
the past three years, keeping only coreherds. Even farmers accustomed to life in
this arid region are finding their resolve
tested as rainfall has become increasingly
unseasonal and erratic, and some have
been driven to the edge of despair.
A number of farmers have been left with
no option but to abandon their farms as they
are unable to grow crops or feed their herds.
It therefore seems that, while we are
celebrating the recovery of some crop
production areas in the Western Cape, we
have been underplaying the scale of the
impact of the drought in the Central Karoo,
which is also part of the Western Cape.
Observations on the ground suggest
that the effects are far greater than most
of us realise, and that this severe and
prolonged drought in the Central Karoo,
which also covers parts of the Northern
Cape, is still very much in action.Given the relevance of the Central Karoo
in agriculture , which contributes more
than 15% to the region’s GDP, government
should make a more concerted effort
to prevent commercial agriculture
in this region from collapsing.
The area, which is dominated by sheep
farming, has always played a crucial role in
advancing agricultural economic growth
in the Western and Northern Cape. A total
collapse of commercial agriculture in this
region will negatively affect the overall
agricultural economy of these provinces.
The situation in the Karoo should be
viewed as a matter of urgency, and the
relief funding package revealed by Deputy
President David Mabuza in Parliament to
assist the agriculture sector should first
target the Karoo. Farmers in this region are
in much distress, and need urgent assistance.RAIN HAS NOT
BEEN WIDESPREAD
THROUGHOUT
THE PROVINCE14 farmer’sweekly 9 AUGUST 2019