South Africa confronts a looming water shortage threatening agriculture, food security

EXPERTS on Thursday said they believed that the water crisis has a huge impact on the agricultural industry after a JP Landman report released last week indicated that South Africa was one of the 30 driest countries globally.

- YOGASHEN PILLAY

The report indicated that without major interventions, the country faced a projected 17% water shortfall by 2030.

The situation is exacerbated by systemic issues in water management, notably failing infrastructure and inadequate maintenance.

Alarmingly, nearly half of the water supply—47%—is classified as non-revenue water, significantly above the international norm due to leaks, theft, and poor metering practices.

The implications extend beyond statistics; they threaten the very backbone of South Africa's agricultural industry which relies heavily on adequate water supply.

The report also underscored the complexities of South Africa’s water dependencies, noting that the nation relied on 22 strategic water sources across five provinces, drawing on cross-border catchments from Lesotho and Eswatini to fill dams that supply water to its nine provinces—four of which lack natural sources entirely.