Fears of food shortage and price hikes in the wake of KZN floods

DURBAN - THERE are mounting fears that the recent floods, which battered many parts of KwaZulu-Natal, may impact the food value chain, affecting exports and possibly leading to a rise in prices domestically.

As KZN continues to count the costs of the floods, especially the damage to public infrastructure, the farming community is also tallying the costs.

The South African Farmers Development Agency (Safda) said farmers had suffered losses amounting to several million rand.

The agency said farmers had reported a total loss of crop as soil erosion took place in their fields and a loss of farming inputs kept in their storage facilities, waiting to be used, including fertilisers and chemicals.

“To date we have recorded a total of 1 537.4 hectares of cane and cash crops having been eroded. At an estimated cost of R32 000 of replant per hectare, this accounts for a total of R49 196 800, as we have confirmed that almost all affected fields need to be replanted as a result of waterlogging killing the roots,” said Safda executive chairperson Siyabonga Madlala.

In addition, Safda said many farms experienced severe damage to access roads and infield roads. There was also damage to farm buildings and irrigation infrastructure.

“The total estimated cost of repairing damaged infrastructure amounts to R42 000 000,” Safda said.

The KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) said they were likely to get a clearer picture of the extent of the damage and its value by tomorrow.

“We are still getting information from our members across the province, the picture is quite bad so far and is likely to get worse,” said Kwanalu’s Phenias Gumede.

South African Canegrowers CEO Dr Thomas Funke said they had been inundated with reports of extensive damage not only to cane fields and farm infrastructure but also to access routes which allow growers to deliver their cane to mills from their members.

“By Tuesday afternoon, just over 300 growers had responded to a survey and reported that 2 516.65 hectares of cane had extensive crop and root damage, therefore requiring the total replanting of these fields to bring them back into production. This damage comes to an estimated R194.9 million. Farm infrastructure to the value of R27.9m has also been destroyed bringing the total losses to R222.9m,” said Funke.

He added that a number of local roads and bridges had been washed away, which were not only the main transport nodes to mills, but also the access routes for farm inputs and workers employed on these farms.

Advocacy group the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) also expressed concern over the impact the floods will have on the cost of basic foodstuffs, especially to vulnerable communities.

PMBEJD director Mervyn Abrahams predicted that there will be a shortage of fresh produce which in turn will drive the prices up.

“What we are concerned about is that there will be opportunistic retailers who will use the chance to raise prices of items that will be in short supply,” said Abrahams.

He added that the greater concern was that the government’s watchdog body – the Competition Commission – did not have sufficient capacity, especially in the form of human resources, to unmask and punish such retailers.

“What this means is that the citizenry needs to play a watchdog role by taking pictures of higher than normal prices of foodstuffs and send them to the commission.

“This way they (retailers) will be identified and we will then see whether appropriate action will be taken against them,” Abrahams concluded.

He appealed to other government agencies to play an active role in ensuring that poor people were not exploited by retailers during these difficult times.

The farming community has emphasised that the agriculture sector plays a crucial role in the country’s economy ensuring food security, while generating revenue through exports, and it is for this reason that it should be given as much assistance as possible, he said.