EPH:Cold snap, severe drought put farms under pressure

From Herald Correspondent:

A “TERRIBLE situation could become worse”, say Western Cape producers, concerned fruit may become scarce and meat prices “skyrocket” as hundreds of farmers battle drought and hundreds more recover from last week‘s big freeze.

In the Central Karoo, the situation is so bad that even one of Africa‘s most drought-adapted antelopes, the gemsbok, are “dropping like flies”.

Fruit harvests on more than 500 farms were damaged, some completely ruined, because of last week‘s cold weather and the agriculture department said up to 600 Central Karoo farms were suffering because of a severe drought. The situation was “very bad and cause for concern”.

For more go here.

NVDL: There's the rub. With fuel inputs already increasing, we can no longer avoid other external factors complicating food growing (and making it even more expensive). Like the weather. Unfortunately, both are projected to continue to deteriorate, and not over the next year, for the foreseeable duration of our lifetimes.