South Africa’s energy crisis has farmers fearing the worst. To avoid farm production coming to a halt, farmers are exploring alternative energy solutions, which come with hefty price tags amid ongoing power cuts.
During a recent session of Gather To Grow, farmers heard how they could save money by conserving energy with the current infrastructures already on their farms.
The session featured Dr Naude Malan, senior lecturer in development studies at the University of Johannesburg, and coordinator of Izindaba zokudla.
In the session led by host Dawn Noemdoe, Malan told participants that there are ways in which farmers can instantly decrease their energy usage by 15%.
Save rather than replace
“The first thing that you need to think about when you have higher costs is [how to save energy]. The money you put into saving with your existing infrastructure is going to give much higher returns than replacing the infrastructure with solar panels and such,” he said.
Farmers also shared their personal experiences. Nompe Zim, a dairy farmer from the Free State and 2021 recipient of the ARC National Small-scale Master Dairyman of the Year award, said load shedding had a significant and detrimental impact on her dairy production.
She explained how the power cuts led to her milk being wasted, and why utilising generators for cooling systems on the farm was becoming a costly exercise.
“If you can’t cool the milk within a certain period, unfortunately, the bacteria will hide. And also, there is a high possibility that your milk might be sour depending on how long the power will be gone,” she explained.
The session also featured Thabo Skhosana, a dairy farmer from KwaZulu-Natal, Jo-andra Gregory, a poultry farmer from the Western Cape, Daniel De-Sausa, co-founder of The Farm Nearby, as well as Davidzo Chizhengeni, animal scientist and founder of KVD Livestock.
Together, they unpacked:
- Power alternatives for farms; and
- Heating safety precautions; and more.
ALSO READ: Farmers beware: Solar ‘experts’ will pop up everywhere
Sign up for Farmer’s Inside Track: Join our exclusive platform for new entrants into farming and agri-business, with newsletters and and podcasts.
