if certain things are not resolved we will become a failed state. the impact of the power crisis reaches far beyond south africa s cities. a three hour drive from cape town is some of the best citrus farming in the world. 60 tonnes of clementines harvested from just one hectare of western cape soil picked, sorted, packed and shipped to supermarkets in britain. robert paterson has built this farming business up over three decades. it relies on irrigation and that means it relies on the power to pump water. basically every crop in the western cape, apart from wheat and rooibos tea, is irrigated. so the entire western cape is totally dependent on a reliable power supply, which we haven t got. the western cape is a mediterranean climate, so we have a long, hot summer period with basically no
from just one hectare of western cape soil. picked, sorted, packed and shipped to supermarkets in britain. robert pattison has built this farming business up over three decades. it relies on irrigation, and that means it relies on the power to pump water. basically, every crop in the western cape, apart from wheat and rooibos tea, is irrigated. and so the entire western cape is totally dependent on a reliable power supply, which we haven t got. the western cape is a mediterranean climate, so we have a long, hot summer period with basically no rain and then a relatively short winter when it is supposed to rain. but for the past seven years, we ve had way lower than average rainfall. so we haven t been getting the winter rain that we need to fill our dams so that we can irrigate the orchards and vineyards and everything through the summer. so now we ve become even more dependent on underground water.
As these events are expected to become more common, local communities and researchers are looking to understand what the ecological effects on the land will be
The area under coverage for summer crops in India is marginally down at 69.97 lakh hectares, according to the latest data released by the agriculture ministry.
The area under coverage for summer crops in India is marginally down at 69.20 lakh hectares, according to the latest data released by the agriculture ministry.