Wine farmers need to adopt climate-smart choices

At the Vinpro Regional Information Session held near Worcester in the Western Cape, experts highlighted the urgent need for farmers to adapt to climate change and embrace sustainability to remain competitive and resilient.

- Glenneis Kriel

The Western Cape is already feeling the impacts of climate change, with more extreme weather and shifts in rainfall patterns, said Prof Stephanie Midgley, specialist scientist for climate change research at the provincial Department of Agriculture.

She said the province’s varied topography made it difficult to predict exact local impacts, but western areas were expected to become drier, while average minimum and maximum temperatures could rise. In some regions, rainfall may remain stable or even increase, but spread over longer periods, while cycles of wet and dry seasons might shorten.

“Where we previously might have had a drought once every 10 years, we are now seeing one or two in every 10 years, which could rise to six or seven in future,” Midgley warned.