Agbiz calls for 'less severe' load-shedding stages in areas under irrigation

The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) has called for “less severe” load-shedding” stages in areas under irrigation and for food-processing facilities.

Agbiz said on Monday it has had meetings with the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development and Eskom to find ways to ease the pressure on agribusinesses.

Severe load-shedding has increased food security risks in South Africa and financial pressures on farmers, agribusinesses and the value chain role players, it said.

It added that while the risk was great, statements on food security should only be made from an evidence base.

“As such, Agbiz conducted a survey this past week across all the sectors and the results are currently being analysed by a joint team of experts.

‘Insights will be shared as soon as possible. The survey will also be used to inform possible interventions that government and private sector representatives are formulating to ensure a sound approach.”

Agbiz said among crucial field crops, roughly 20% of maize, 15% of soybean, 34% of sugar cane and nearly half of the wheat production were produced under irrigation, which faced severe challenges due to persistently hot and dry conditions, coupled with constrained ability to irrigate.

Fruit and vegetables also relied heavily on irrigation and thus faced similar challenges.

“Similarly, in the dairy industry, aquaculture, red meat, poultry, animal feed manufacturing and piggeries, there are also concerns that load-shedding beyond stage two makes operations and planning challenging, as these industries all require continuous power for their usual activities.”

It said agribusinesses faced similar challenges in various downstream processing activities, such as milling, bakeries, abattoirs, wine processing, packaging, and animal vaccine production.

“This means that continued engagements with Eskom to lobby that load-shedding does not exceed stage two or three is critical for the near term, and to develop contingency plans that allow greater predictability should outages be unavoidable so that companies may plan their operations around a more predictable schedule.

“The sector will also explore the path for renewables, and this might need government assistance, subsidies and revisions to the regulatory framework.”

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