South Africa’s pothole crisis has deteriorated to the point it is now threatening the country’s food supply, as farmers are struggling to transport their goods to store shelves.
In an interview with ENCA, Pitso Sekhoto, the chair of the Agri-sector Unity Forum and a member of the African Farmers Association, warned that a lack of useable roads is causing widespread damage to the transport of produce and key resources such as diesel to and from the nation’s farms.
He said that both the national and local governments are failing to provide what they are mandated to do, and that no one is taking the issue seriously despite its severe impact on the agricultural sector.
Transport issues
Sekhoto cautioned that if South Africa’s transportation issues are not fixed with haste, it will lead to food insecurity.
The chairperson highlighted two major points of concern for farmers – the first being the poor state of the country’s roads which are negatively affecting deliveries both to and from farms, and the second its failed rail network.
If the rail network under Transnet was up to scratch, farmers could make full use of transporting large quantities of goods across the country. However, there is no working and reliable rail system so they are unable to do so.
The lack of running trains also results in worse congestion for all road users as farmers are forced to transport their goods via trucks instead.
“If the rail were here, farmers would have done better. If you can’t have rail, congestion on the roads is terrible,” said Sekhoto.
He said there is no good reason for the roads not being fixed as municipalities are obligated to budget for road maintenance, but the funds are instead being siphoned off by corruption or put towards wasteful expenditure, writes BusinessTech.
All of this is happening at a time when South Africa is experiencing record levels of load-shedding which is costing the agricultural industry billions of rands a year.
Farmers are increasingly reliant on diesel to power not just their tractors but also large-scale generators, and the tankers meant to deliver this fuel are struggling to reach their destinations because of the hazardous driving conditions.
Supply chain issues are also threatening the delivery of vaccines, which could lead to shortages of red meat.
Last month, Christo Van der Rheede, the CEO of Agri SA, issued a warning that South Africa could expect higher good prices, crop failure, and shortage of certain key products in the near future if immediate action was not taken to improve the transport network.
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