BUSINESS MAVERICK: The heavens have opened, but Western Cape agriculture still needs more rain

The slow agricultural recovery in Western Cape farming has been evident in a poor harvest in wine grapes and horticultural products in 2018 and 2019. This occurred despite the recent improvement in rainfall. The province will have to receive average or above-average rainfall for a few more seasons for orchards to bounce back to pre-2017 levels.

This would be a welcome development. That said, I recognise that some areas in the province received much higher rainfall than others, and dam levels vary across regions. Moreover, the Western Cape has lifted its wheat plantings by 2% from the area planted in 2018. This is a fairly small improvement and suggests that farmers remain cautious of erratic weather conditions. The province is also a major producer of barley, canola and oats, which all stand to benefit from more sustained improvement in weather conditions. Encouragingly, feedback from farmers following the recent rainfall in the province has been positive, with winter crops reportedly in good shape.

The winter crops will need moisture at least until the end of September, which is when all crops will have matured. Also, winter crops in the Western Cape are generally rain-fed, hence the need for consistent rainfall. The horticulture fields need moisture throughout the year, with crucial months for next season’s harvest size being August and September, specifically for wine grapes.

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