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Organised agriculture has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to make announcements on immediate government action to relieve farmers of the crippling burden of load shedding.
AgriSA made the appeal ahead of the president's State of the Nation Address this week.
Chief Executive, Christo van der Rheede says without urgent action, South Africans can expect crop failures, higher food prices, and shortages of certain food items in the near future.
He says the declaration of a state of disaster alone will not avert this threat and what is required, is targeted relief.
"Loadshedding more than doubled between January and September 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 and as a result, the agricultural sector lost more than R23-billion during the nine-month period under review", Van der Rheede said.
He says this loss could be exceeded in 2023, threatening the sustainability of the sector and the 800,000 jobs it provides.
Van der Rheede says they call on President Ramaphosa to put measures in place - including the declaration of the agricultural sector and associated value chain as an essential service, partially exempt the sector from load shedding beyond stage 4, and allow for higher rebates on diesel and petrol used for electricity generation.
