Relentless Rainfall In South Africa May Cause Trouble For Wheat Farmers

With the waning impact of the covid-19 pandemic, everyone expected 2022 to be the year that would support recovery in various regards. However, the year has thrown up challenges that none of us expected.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine which started in February caused disruptions in the supply chain and owing to the war between the two biggest wheat exporters in the world, countries around the globe started struggling to meet their food needs. Owing to limited supplies and high demand, the prices of food and Agro Commodities hit the ceiling causing troubles for many. Adding fuel to the fire, adverse weather conditions in different parts of the world brought down production and further amplified the issue.

While some nations were braced with hot and dry weather conditions and rounds of heatwaves that affected productivity, excessive rainfall in some added to the worries.

One such incident is happening in the North West, the eastern part of the South African province. Relentless rainfall is taking a toll on wheat farmers as they are constantly worried about crop damage. In the eastern part of the South African province, the wheat crops are ready for harvest, however heavy rainfall is damaging the crops lying in the field.

The Present Situation

At present, the eastern part of the South African province, continues to receive unabated rainfall. Owing to this, dams are already overflowing and wheat farmers are anxious about their harvest.

Van Der Merwe, a wheat farmer in the region explains that only 10% of the wheat crop has been harvested so far and the rest of the harvest is ripe on the field. However, because of unabated rainfall, wheat farmers are unable to harvest their crops, and fears about crop damage continue to eat up their minds if the rainfall doesn’t stop.

He further explains that because of all these, the wheat farmers of the region including him are worried about their harvest, crop damage, and financial losses.

Why are farmers worried?

The constant downpours have led to worries for the wheat farmers in the North West, the eastern province of South Africa. While some are unable to harvest their crops, others are unable to prepare their field for planting.

The ones waiting to harvest their crops voiced that their prime worry was the loss of quality. They stated that the grain is already coming out and if the rainfalls and winds continue, most of the grains will fall on the ground thereby leading to a nearly 50% drop in the harvest value.

The Bottom Line

In a year that turned out to be strange in so many aspects, persistent rainfall in the North West, the eastern part of the South African province has further raised the alarms.

Unabated rainfall has brought nightmares to the wheat farmers of the region, and fears are high over the loss of harvest and revenue if the downpours don’t stop.

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