Restrictions here to stay as drought hits Cape agri-exporters

Western Cape exports are
under threat as provincial
officials search for solutions
for the ongoing water crisis.
New restrictions
introduced several weeks ago
require all commercial water
users to reduce consumption
by 20% with immediate effect
while all residents in Cape
Town are restricted to only 87
litres of water per day.
The agricultural sector
has been heavily affected
by the ongoing drought
and concerns are rising –
especially with winter in the
Cape officially over and 50%
less rainfall recorded than
was expected.
According to Helen
Davies, chief director: green
economy at the department
of economic development &
tourism, the current drought
can only be broken by three to
four years of good rainfall.
“Projections at this point
are that we will not be getting
that. Rainfall in the Western
Cape has systematically been
reducing since around 1993,
but it has now reached a level
far worse than what has ever
been experienced,” she said.
“The effects of this drought
are going to be long term and
business is going to have to
adapt to a new normal. The
restrictions are here to stay.”
She said there were no
projections for significant
rainfall next year – and even if
the province made it through
the summer it would require
good rains to see it through
winter 2018.
“A lot of the focus has
been on Cape Town, but the
drought is making an impact
across the province,” she said.
The Western Cape
was heavily reliant on its
agricultural
exports and
the economic
impact of
the drought
was a major
consideration
at present, said
Davies.
Water is
now regarded
as a provincial
risk as it
becomes
clearer that the
crisis has only
just begun and the worst is
probably yet to come.
“There is understandably a
lot of uncertainty at present,”
said Davies. “Low water
supply, the quality of water,
the curtailment of water and
also the knock-on effect of
higher water costs will have
an economic
impact.”
She said
the province
was actively
involved in
looking at
the impact of
restrictions
on waterdependent
economic
activity –
including
agriculture –
and the impact
it would have on goods and
services manufactured and
produced in the province.
“Government has been
focusing on high intensive
users in the agriculture and
agri processing, construction
and manufacturing sectors
and the impact has been
severe. Several farms are
under threat of closing
down, not to mention the
impact on the quality of
what farms produce as well
as productivity,” said Davies.
“There are concerns not only
around the increase in prices
of goods and services, but also
that we might have to import
products previously sourced
locally and also the impact on
our exports.”
She said reputational
loss and decreased
competitiveness were very
real threats of the drought
and much effort was going
into planning and strategy to
develop a long-term approach.
INSERT
Several farms are
under threat of
closing down, not to
mention the impact
on produce quality.
– Helen Davies