The recent drought across South Africa has left manyindustries stilted. One of the hardest hit was the agricultural sector, whichuses approximately 84% of the fresh water that the country produces.
Alan Winde, the Western Cape Economic Opportunities MEC,told the media that the drought is predicted to last for a few years soresidents and farmers are encouraged to do their utmost to make sure that wateris conserved by every means possible.
The Western Cape Economic Opportunities department hasbeen working with several farmers in the region in order to make sure that theyadopt conservation agriculture practices with ‘focused research and technologytransfers'. Mr Kobus Pienaar, Woolworths Foods Farming For the Future expertand Good Business Journey Manager also believes there is a hope for sustainablefarming "We are not entirely powerless in the drought. Innovative thinkingcan bring about significant water saving without substantial financial input."The agricultural sector is a vital sector to take a critical look at how wateris used to ensure that every drop counts.
But what can be done to minimise the amount of waterthat is used in agriculture? According to Pienaar, it is imperative thatagriculture's impact on scarce resources, such as water, is managed aseffectively as possible. Woolworths started working with their producers backin 2009 on management practices that save water in unique ways and from thisthe Farming for the Future (FFF) initiative was born. This seven-yearpartnership has seen vegetable, fruit and flower farmers become educators andinnovators in ensuring that water is used in the most effective way, withoutcompromising quality and yield. One such example is the 23 litres of waterSouth African farmers use to produce one plum of 135 g, compared to the globalaverage of 237 litres of water for the same product.
The strategy and initiatives implemented havepredominantly focused on farming methods that promote responsible farming andgood water management in agriculture.
Starting with the soil, farmers make use ofconservation tillage, and ground covers which increases water absorption andreduces evaporation, erosion and compaction as this makes sure that the watercapacity increases annually. If the soil where the crops are planted is managedcorrectly it can be used as a reservoir in which to store water. The use of aprecious resource such as water to nurture a plant is an investment in that plant. It is therefore very importantto ensure that all the factors that could affect the health of the plant areproperly managed. In Grabouw, Fruitways employs techniques to ensure that thesoil is always covered by a cover crop in combination with plant density andimproved rootstock. In this way they grow less tree and more apples. They callit the "orchard of the future" and they have reduced their water usage perkilogram apples produced.
Correct irrigation and equipment maintenance has alsobeen a vital element in managing water. The irrigation method for the kind ofcrop, soil and climate needs to be taken into consideration and weatherforecasts, soil and plant moisture monitored so that irrigation schedules canbe adapted according to the changeable conditions. If the irrigation isoverdone, both water and energy is wasted. Greenpak, vegetable farmers in theFree State, employ technology to measure the plant available moisture in thesoil at different levels. This puts an end to guesswork as they are able todetermine exactly when and how much to irrigate without going beyond the rootzone or placing the plant under undue stress. Their scientific approach ofbuilding the soil structure by crop rotation, the application of fertiliser andimproved tilling practices, has led to significant savings in the applicationof water.
A widely known way to conserve water is by recyclingand reusing, and grey water and hydroponic systems have had a big impact onsustainable farming methods. Water can be saved by recycling the runoff; thisconserves gallons of water. Silver Dawn, a hydroponic farm in Gauteng, capturesrain water and recycles water that has already been through their hydroponicsystem, they have limited their water footprint to the minimum.
This requires farmers to actively get involved inmeasures that they have not previously had to, such as reusing water or workingout the correct irrigation methods with which to farm.
In order for water conservation in the agricultureindustry to work long term Pienaar believes that the sustainable practices haveto become part of the DNA of producers. That the farmers need to remainmotivated to think beyond doing the usual thing and continue to use accuratemeasurements and the scientific interpretation of the data could lead togreater water saving in an already dry South Africa.
To find out more about the implementation ofWoolworths Farming for the future initiatives and the Good Business JourneyGoals visit their website
