Nersa’s possible acceptance of Eskom’s request of a 32% increase in the price of electricity is one increase too far for agriculture in South Africa.
TLU SA believes that this increase will be the death knell for several farmers in the country.
“We realise the urgency of the situation and for that reason we are going to write to the minister of energy affairs and the treasurer. We cannot just accept it and leave it like it is,” says TLU SA President, Mr Henry Geldenhuys.
“The reality is agriculture cannot afford the increase. Farmers already must deal with increased prices of diesel and fertiliser (the price has increased by 150% in certain cases) to name just two. As things stand now, the situation is already bad and for some too bad. Then I’m not even talking about the impact of load shedding. This hinders farmers’ ability to perform their daily tasks.”
It is necessary for the government to intervene.
Agricultural processes are negatively affected and due to profitability, several farmers are now being forced out of the production process.
Mr Geldenhuys adds: “The importance of food security cannot and must not be underestimated by the government. Farmers must be kept in production. The government will have to find a way to help the agricultural sector to overcome the situation through subsidies or special tariffs.”
Read the original article in Afrikaans on TLU SA
