Local farmers feel the pinch of Eskom’s ongoing and devastating load shedding

South African businesses are definitely feeling the pinch brought by the ongoing and persistent load shedding and the farming sector cannot be spared. 
 
The power cuts returned this week as Eskom is experiencing challenges related to power generation and the farming industry has decried the load shedding. 
 
In the farming sector, electricity is utilised for pumping water, operating packing facilities, and keeping cold storage units running on farms.  
 
Because of the devastating load shedding, all of these processes are compromised and it can lead to dire consequences for farmers, consumers, and ultimately the economy. 
 
Operating in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, farmer Sarel Le Roux told IOL how hard load shedding makes it for him to maintain the fine balance it takes for him to be able to run his farming business. 
 
“Here in Weenen in KwaZulu-Natal, for example, rainfall is sparse, and farmers rely heavily on field irrigation fed by nearby water sources such as the Bushman’s River. Additionally, temperatures drop as low as -4°C in the winter when we begin planting potatoes and reach as high as 44°C in the summer.  
 
“And both extremes require careful temperature and soil moisture control using irrigation to avoid poor yields,” said a member of Potatoes South Africa. 
 
“But during periods of exceptionally high load shedding, pumps don’t run, throwing irrigation schedules into disarray and risking crops going dry.” 
 
The effects of the power cuts are far-reaching and negatively impact productivity, which has a direct impact on the availability of produce. 
 
He added that the knock-on effects are that street vendors are unable to procure the stock they need in order to be able to make a living. 
 
“Moreover, electricity supply interruptions affect pack house staffs’ work schedules. Just two bouts of load shedding per day of two hours each translate to half of the workday being lost, which means that only half of the available product amounts can go to market,” he added. 
 
“This, in turn, reduces supply while increasing the costs of packing and the risk of produce spoiling.” 
 
While farmers have to install alternative power solutions like generators, it is important to note that the price of fuel has to be factored in, which in turn, increases the farmers’ input costs for many. 
 
“We’ve been fortunate thus far in that cold stores have not been down long enough to incur any significant spoilage. This said, many farmers have experienced damage to cold room motors and fans in cold rooms, to the point that they had to be replaced at a significant cost,” he explained. 
 
“To guard against this type of damage, protection units then have to be installed to ensure that cold rooms only switch on once load shedding has ended and the electricity supply is stable. 
 
“Together, these all translate into significantly higher input costs for farmers. And when the agricultural sector’s input prices rise, or productivity falls, food prices surge, and it’s the end consumer who suffers.” 
 
Meanwhile, the power utility has announced that the ongoing power cuts are set to continue throughout the week until the weekend. 
 
Image: Agriculture Tractor/NS Farming