The heavy impact of load shedding on South Africa’s farming community is a daunting reality, threatening food security. What are the solutions and are there ways to improve efficiency in both energy and agricultural systems?
These were some of the key questions asked during a webinar on the impact of the energy crisis on agriculture, and possible technology solutions.
The webinar hosted by the Agricultural Development Agency (Agda), featured Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) CEO Theo Boshoff, and founder of Navitas Holdings Mike Levington.
Peak and trough demands
According to Boshoff, in primary agriculture, there are several industries with peak and trough demands, specifically irrigation.
“We have relatively energy-intensive agricultural operations which are unfortunately not peak and trough and makes it a little more difficult to manage, and [is] not as concentrated. The likes of dairy and aquaculture require constant energy supply.”
Boshoff also highlighted other subsectors in agriculture that are reliant on an uninterrupted energy supply. But while that may be the case, most producers have managed to survive and continue production with a huge cost impact on their businesses.
“[There’s a] knock-on effect up the value chain, eventually ending up with consumers. So the food security risk is impacted mostly in the price of food contributing to that food price inflation.”
SA’s shortfall
Levington explained that one of the many complaints he gets is around the unpredictability of when load shedding occurs. He said the government needed to give a far more honest and frank view of how long it would take to solve the country’s energy crisis.
“This would allow people to manage their days and manage their future,” Levington said.
According to Levington, a shortfall that South Africa has is focusing typically on what generation of technology we use. This has unfortunately moved us away from where the actual problem lies, which is the grid, Levington pointed out.
“Around the world, you will find that you can never build the grid fast enough to meet the apatite [of the entire country],” he said.
“You fundamentally need to change the grid to be able to satisfy that and it involves public and private sector working together to make that happen.”
This, however, does not solve the problem in the short-term and farmers will need to look at self-generation, Livington said.
Solutions being explored
Boshoff said that it was important to get load shedding to predictable levels. He also highlighted efforts by the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) to determine where the irrigation hotspots are in South Africa.
One of the solutions currently being explored is low curtailment.
“[This is when] you don’t get load shedding but you voluntarily reduce your energy consumption by 5% for each stage of load shedding. You determine yourself, what is vital and what is not vital.”
“The other option is having these shifts. For instance two eight-hour shifts with power and one eight-hour shift without power,” Boshoff said.
It is a challenge for farmers who are tied to the same grid as other users who do not have the same energy needs as they have.
Boshoff said the energy crisis task team set up by the national minister of agriculture, Thoko Didiza, is making progress on finding solutions. Several pilot projects in farming districts have been identified in conjunction with Eskom to try and ease pressure on farming communities and businesses.
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