Jobs in agriculture are on the line in the Western Cape, where halfway through the winter rainy season, the province remains in the grip of one of the worst dry spells on record.
This also has implications for the province’s food security.
Fanie van der Merwe, who grows the vegetable witlof in Ceres, said the drought had placed jobs and food security at risk. He described the drought in the Op-Die-Berg area of the Koue Bokkeveld as the worst in 100 years.
Witlof, also known as Belgian endive, is grown hydroponically, but Van der Merwe said the circulated water used less than a few average households’ consumption. The problem arose with irrigating vegetable crops such as onions, and apple and pear trees, he said.
"Apples and pears are long-term crops. It takes about seven years from planting a tree to its first harvest, so we have to take a long-term view. If we don’t get good rains soon, the seasonal jobs of 1,500 people in our area alone are at risk as there won’t be fruit on the trees to pick."
Food security could also be at risk and the scarcity of fruit, vegetables and meat might drive up their cost where they were available, Van der Merwe said.
The drought was far more severe and protracted than anyone foresaw and rainfall probability remained uncertain, said Xanthea Limberg, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member responsible for water.
Cosatu provincial secretary Tony Ehrenreich has accused the DA-led City of Cape Town of mismanaging water shortages.
"The city is not giving people water tanks so they can harvest their own water. It is not putting in place a seawater system that would reduce the usage of fresh water in the city," he said.
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