South Africa’s power cuts are putting a lot of strain on not only farmers but consumers as well. Load shedding has increased the costs of commodity production and processing, and increased food security risks in South Africa, writes Khathutshelo Rambau, research assistant at the National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC).
The citrus industry in South Africa has a long history that dates to the 1600s when the first citrus fruit trees were planted in the Cape region. The industry has grown significantly and is now regarded as a formidable producer and exporter of different kinds of citrus fruit globally (TurtleSA, 2015).
For instance, data from Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA, 2022) shows that South Africa is the 12th largest producer of citrus in the world, contributing about R27.1 billion to the total South African gross value of agricultural production during the 2020/21 marketing season (DALRRD, 2022).
During the same period, the citrus industry contributed R 14 billion worth of citrus exports and this contributed about 40% of total fresh fruits exports. Locally, the industry is characterised by supply to fresh fruit markets and fruit processing. The local market has many players to supply such as fresh produce markets, hawkers, and supermarkets (FAO, 2021).
Irrigation threats
South Africa is currently experiencing a crisis of load shedding and this has detrimental effects on citrus farmers who rely on the national grid for the supply of energy to irrigate their farms (Samboko et al 2016).
According to Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA, 2023), the rolling stage 6 blackouts have been a great concern for the citrus industry due to their threat to the 2023 citrus crop and export season. Most irrigation systems run on electricity as well as the ability to operate pump stations virtually throughout the day in order to ensure the right volume of water is irrigated within a weekly cycle (CGA, 2023).
South Africans have been experiencing load shedding almost daily since the beginning of 2023. In January 2023 power cuts occurred more frequently than in the 12 months of 2019. The situation is not forecasted to improve soon with significant outages expected to continue until at least 2024 (USDA, 2023).
Citrus exports at risk
Load shedding impacts the entire citrus value chain from farmgate to the final consumer. Many of South Africa’s food is produced through sophisticated supply chains that are electricity dependent.
These supply chains are heavily impacted by the ongoing crisis of load shedding. Most notably, load shedding is causing damage and disruptions to the cold storage facilities, which preserves food quality/freshness, food safety and shelf life for the fruits. This also affects pack houses and cold storage facilities that are dependent on electricity.
Load shedding has increased the costs of commodity production and processing, driven primarily by the acquisition and operation of back-up generators, equipment start-ups, shifting labour, overtime, and idle labour.
For commercial production, the effect has been through reduced yields (Samboko et al, 2016). Furthermore, cold chain management forms part of formal and legally binding local and international phytosanitary measures. Temperature breaks in phytosanitary shipment protocols can disqualify products from eligibility to access international markets, presenting a major risk for South African citrus exports.
Threat to sustainability and profitability
In addition to putting citrus exports at risk, the domestic food supply is also impacted by cold storage challenges resulting from load shedding (USDA, 2022). This poses a major threat to the sustainability and profitability of the citrus sector along with 130 000 jobs it sustains as well as the R30 billion in export revenue it generates annually (CGA,2022).
Severe load shedding has increased food security risks in South Africa, and financial pressures on farmers, agribusinesses, and the value chain role players. Agbiz (2023) has called for less severe load-shedding in areas under irrigation, and food-processing facilities.
According to Agbiz (2023), continued engagements with Eskom to lobby that load shedding does not exceed stage two or three is critical for the near term. As a result, it is important to develop contingency plans that allow greater predictability should outages be unavoidable so that companies may plan their operations around a more predictable schedule.
With load shedding, the use of generators is an expensive alternative, and with the current high fuel prices, this option is also beyond the reach of some farmers. The sector is also exploring the path for renewables, and this might need government assistance, subsidies, and revisions to the regulatory framework.
- Khathutshelo Rambau is a research assistant at the National Agricultural Marketing Council. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Food For Mzansi.
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