Making Optimal Use Of Scarce Water Resources

Water availability has become one of the greatest limiting factors in agricultural production in South Africa. Johan Kotzé, director of Dutoit Agri Eastern Cape, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about how the company is managing this problem and producing more fruit per litre of water used.

- Johan Kotzé

FAST FACTS

The Dutoit Group has redesigned the irrigation infrastructure on its Langkloof farms to prevent the over- and under-irrigation of its orchards.

Long-radius micro-sprinklers have been replaced with drippers and short-radius micro-sprinklers.

Mulch and compost are used to reduce evaporation and improve the water-holding capacity of the soil.

The Langkloof, a fertile valley bisected by the R62 in the Eastern Cape, is famous for its fruit production. The past few years, however, have seen farmers in the area struggling to provide enough water for their orchards. The valley received its last normal annual rainfall in 2015, and competition for water in urban and other farming areas has resulted in deep cuts in water allocations to Langkloof producers.

“The Langkloof falls in the main catchment area of the Kouga Dam, which supplies people in and around Gqeberha [Port Elizabeth] as well as the Gamtoos Irrigation Board.

“In June this year, the dam contained less than 4% of its capacity,” explains Johan Kotzé, chairperson of Langkloof Water and director of Dutoit Agri Eastern Cape.

While isolated heavy downpours have fallen over this time, farmers have been unable to take advantage of these because there is a legal limit to the size of on-farm dams.

“We’re not allowed to build bigger dams, which is a pity, as it would allow us to store water for distribution over longer periods and in effect reduce our production risks. Now, once our dams are full, we lose water that could have been saved for the next season,” says Kotzé.