Damage to Western Cape agriculture infrastructure estimated at R1.053 billion

Following the recent severe floods in the Western Cape, the Western Cape Department of Agriculture (WCDoA) today released an updated assessment of the estimated financial cost of the damage.

A rapid assessment conducted during the period 26 to 30 June 2023 considered damage to primary agriculture sites in the West Coast, Cape Winelands and the Overberg, and confirmed extensive damage to riverbanks, irrigation equipment, private roads and sediment over vineyards and fruit orchards.

The estimated costs of the damage are:

• Irrigation - R7.7 million
• Fencing - R1.4 million
• Rehabilitation of rivers, riparian zones, vineyards and orchards due to large volumes of sediment removed upstream and deposited downstream in rivers, riverbanks, vineyards and orchards– R748 million
• Crop losses - R278 million
• Loss of income (seasonal workers) R18.7 million and
• The cost of clearing a weir to provide drinking water to 400 people - R120 000The above estimates do not consider potential losses experienced along the agriculture value chain nor provide any insight into the impact on future exports.

Armed with a more credible, albeit conservative estimate, officials will, together with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, approach the National Disaster Management Centre with the aim of having the flood-damaged areas declared a disaster and unlocking the relevant funding and support that could be provided.In the interim, the WCDoA will ensure that affected producers have access to the best technical information through its extension and advisory services. In addition, the Department will also extend its current river protection works programme to flood-affected river systems as this will mitigate the impact of future flooding. The WCDoA will also reprioritize existing allocations, as well as approach its national sector department and the National Disaster Management Centre, via the Provincial Disaster Management Centre, to cover the costs of river protection works.