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The department of agriculture is urging crop farmers to implement climate-smart agriculture that will conserve soil moisture and preserve water as the country braces for the El Niño weather pattern, which is expected to bring high temperatures and drought.In an advisory on Wednesday, the department exhorted animal farmers to keep their livestock in balance with the carrying capacity of the veld and available grazing, and to continually scout and put control measures in place for pests and diseases associated with hot conditions.The advisory comes after the South African Weather Service (Saws) warned that hot temperatures and lower-than-usual rainfall are forecast for the country from October to December. It said a strong El Niño event has formed in the Pacific Ocean and is likely to become a very strong event this spring.“In the agricultural sector, El Niño conditions might result in below-normal rainfall and high temperatures that may lead to dry conditions and heat stress. This often contributes to crop failure and livestock mortalities, especially where risk reduction measures are not implemented,” the agriculture department said.“Water restrictions also come into effect when rainfall is low and usually affect irrigation farmers. The other issues of concern are pests and diseases associated with these conditions. Crop farmers are encouraged to implement climate-smart agriculture that will ensure that soil moisture is conserved.”Last month, the World Food Programme warned that a powerful El Niño event could push an additional nearly 49-million people into acute food insecurity across some of the world’s most vulnerable regions by the end of next year.It said Central America and Southern Africa were expected to be among the hardest-hit regions, with the number of food-insecure people set to increase by 83% in Central America and nearly 75% in Southern Africa. Southern Africa, South America and the Caribbean could each see more than 12-million additional people fall into acute food insecurity.Hot, dry weatherOn Wednesday, the agriculture department recommended that farmers implement risk-reduction measures such as not unnecessarily expanding land under production, prioritising suitable cultivars that will withstand dry and hot conditions, and implementing water harvesting techniques and using best irrigation methods such as drip systems.This would not be the first time South Africa’s farmers have to go through a drought, agriculture minister Willie Aucamp noted, adding that new technologies have come onstream to better deal with the phenomenon.“Today we’ve got innovations that help us to have better seed quality, seeds that will be better prepared to take on or to handle these drought conditions … We’ve got measures in place on how to do irrigation at the right times of the day so that we know that we utilise our water to the best of our ability,” Aucamp said.“We will be involved in providing early-warning systems as much and as frequently as we can. We will provide weather updates on a daily basis, especially to warn about severe heat conditions that might be on the horizon. We will take hands with everybody, every farmer, every agricultural organisation to make sure that South Africa’s farmers get through this difficult, prolonged drought that we are facing.”Last month, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago warned that while South Africa has so far been spared food inflation stemming from the Middle East war because the conflict erupted after the domestic summer planting season, an extended conflict and El Niño weather posed upside risks.Earlier this week, Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa chief economist Wandile Sihlobo warned of a difficult upcoming season following one of abundance supported by La Niña rains.Sihlobo said better soil moisture after the long summer rain season would help support plantings but added, “That will only be at the start of the season; much will depend on the weather conditions. We are heading into a challenging season ahead, and the good folks at the Saws are warning us.”Business Day
