Dry Spell Should Cue A Rethink On Farming In SA

Increasing incidences of drought and worsening environmental conditions, including soil infertility and higher than average temperatures, raise serious questions about South Africa’s ability to farm sustainably in the long term. Oxfam SA argues that South Africa can only continue to produce enough food if it addresses societal inequalities.

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The recent drought, and predictions that El Niño weather patterns and climate change may increase the incidence of this type of extreme weather in South Africa, should prompt us to rethink structural inequalities that distribute vulnerability so unevenly.

South Africa’s relative dryness and infertile soils limit the land available for food production in times of ‘normal’ rainfall. Who uses, and should use, agricultural land and water, and for which purposes, are crucial questions.

In 2016, Agri SA reported the effects of the current drought. These included recessionary pressures on agriculture, reflected in year-on-year GDP decline; depletion of natural fodder, leading to livestock slaughter, and deaths, and rising red meat prices; a 25% reduction in the area planted to summer cash crops, particularly in the western regions; lower maize yield expectations due to high temperatures compromising pollination; and a white and yellow maize deficit resulting in expected imports of up to 3,5 million tons, placing pressure on the country’s balance of payments.

South Africa’s agricultural potential makes it susceptible to drought. Just under 14% of land is used for cash crops, and, of this, only 3% is high potential land. Much land under cultivation is semi-marginal for crops, increasing the harvests’ vulnerability to drought and higher temperatures.

Most of the country’s agricultural land can be used only for livestock production, and bush encroachment threatens large tracts of grassland. Drought spells trouble for grassland forage supplies, and endemic drought, coupled with warming, puts production based on grazing at risk.