Heavy rains raise South African bumper harvest hopes

Heavy rains throughout parts of the country and the wet weather outlook for the remainder of the summer have given South African farmers hope for a bumper crop.

"Last year was terrible for farmers because it was so dry, but the recent rains and high dam levels signal it will be a good year," said Bully Bothma, a farm owner in Bothavilla. "We are optimistic it will be a bumper season," he said.

The South African Weather Services has forecast regular rainfall in parts of the country over the next few months and the outlook for the year remains positive. Dam levels, according to the department of water affairs and forestry, are higher than in the same period last year in at least five provinces.

Neels Ferreira, the Grain South Africa chairman, said rainfalls last year were good until January, but then dried up so that the summer season for most farmers was a total disaster. "Farmers failed to produce crops. It was a bad year."

Henk Vermeulen, the head of Free State Agriculture, said farmers struggled last year because of the dry weather which caused veld fires, damaging farming land and killing livestock. "I don't think some farmers were able to service their debts because of the conditions then," Vermeulen said. He said power cuts would affect irrigation of crops, ultimately affecting output and putting the brakes on exports. "The crisis at Eskom (power generating company) will certainly have a greater impact on crops than the weather will," he said.

In September, farmers, buoyed by the high prices being fetched for maize and optimism over better weather, gave notice of a bumper planting season with the crop estimates committee (CEC), forecasting that farmers would be likely to plant 2,87 million hectares of maize this season compared with only 2 634 million hectares last years.

A global report looking at world agricultural weather highlights by the US-based World Agricultural Outlook Board said conditions in South Africa would remain favourable across the maize belt, as early January showers had boosted moisture reserves for summer crops approaching maturation.

IOL