food supply in South Africa under threat
PwC has revealed that South Africa is looking at a risk of heightened food insecurity since load-shedding, adverse weather, and deteriorating infrastructure disrupting the country’s food supply. The firm’s financial advisory, South Africa Economic Outlook which was released in June, discussed how businesses could respond to the difficulties of the current economic conditions. At the
food supply in South Africa under threat
PwC has revealed that South Africa is looking at a risk of heightened food insecurity since load-shedding, adverse weather, and deteriorating infrastructure disrupting the country’s food supply.
The firm’s financial advisory, South Africa Economic Outlook which was released in June, discussed how businesses could respond to the difficulties of the current economic conditions. At the current moment, South Africa ranks 52 of 113 countries for food availability according to reports from the Global Food Security Index.
The biggest concern right now is that this may deteriorate towards the end of 2023 with food inflation at a 14-year high, which would make basic staples unaffordable, and increase disruptions to the agricultural sector.
PwC’s main concern in particular, is the elevation of levels of load-shedding, which also affects the water supply on farms, as a third of South African farms rely on electricity to pump water for irrigation. This is what causes a disturbance on the food supply, making it increasingly difficult for retailers to consistently source food at affordable prices.
The company’s warning is an echo to Pitso Sekhoto of the African Farmers Association of South Africa, who also gave a warning about the country possibly reaching a point where food supply cannot be guaranteed. This is due to deteriorating infrastructure preventing farmers from getting their produce to market.
Sekhoto said municipalities and provincial governments are the reason why South African agriculture is in such a mess. Farmers are having trouble getting their produce to market and increasingly struggling to get supplies, with diesel being particularly difficult to source. “If we do not fix these problems, we will reach a point where we are food insecure in South Africa.” – he said.
Weather is also a posing as a threat since the country is entering the El Niño season with irregular weather expected throughout winter. This threatens the harvest of the country’s winter crops, such as wheat, canola, barley, and oats.
PwC said the combination of these factors threatens South Africa’s food supply and subsequently social cohesion.
