‘Electricity state of disaster regulations will allow agriculture to operate’

Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza says the electricity state of disaster regulations gives effect to measures that will allow agriculture to operate.

Didiza says government is also looking to support farmers who want to produce their own alternative energy through blended finance mechanisms.

The minister says she has been engaging with Eskom to find short-term interventions that can be applied to avoid the risk of food insecurity in the country.

Didiza was addressing the media at an inter-ministerial electricity state of disaster briefing in Pretoria.

“Some of those were looking at off-grid where some of the investments by agricultural business and some large agricultural entities can employ such solar systems and others to be able to continue with production. The second intervention has been to look at where the timing of loads hedding particularly where the intensity of irrigation is concentrated, can actually apply with agreement with those producers with those localities.”