Ailing infrastructure: a threat to SA agriculture
FAST FACTS
The poor state of South Africa’s infrastructure could derail the agriculture industry.
Breakdowns and inefficiencies at the country’s ports are delaying exports.
Dilapidated water systems waste more water than what is being used in agriculture to produce food.
South Africa’s agriculture sector has proven remarkably resilient in the face of numerous difficulties, from erratic weather and increasing input costs to service disruptions. Unfortunately, a potentially crippling challenge has been added to this already formidable list: the parlous state of the country’s infrastructure.
South Africa’s ports have been making headlines as cyberattacks, ageing infrastructure, and mismanaged funds have left export crops high and dry. Since the foreign income earned from these crops are what make the sectors viable, the lack of reliable logistics places rural economies at risk.
To take one example, as the citrus industry continues on its growth path, the revenue that it is set to earn in future will depend on the infrastructure put in place, maintained and upgraded today. However, this is now in jeopardy, given Transnet’s recent announcement that it
