Kruger National Park officials fear that a new billion-rand sugar project on its borders will dry up rivers in the world-renowned park.
The Kruger park is just one of several concerned parties warning that water-intensive sugar crops will place a heavy burden on the drought-stricken Limpopo province.
The proposed project is also complicating relations between South Africa and Mozambique, because the rivers that run through the Kruger park supply water to the neighbouring country.
The developers of the Blyde river sugar project near Hoedspruit in Limpopo promise it will relieve grinding poverty in the area by creating 7 000 jobs. They also say it will give the region an economic boost by empowering black farmers.
Hoedspruit, where they plan to develop 13 000ha for sugar cane farming, is situated in a low-rainfall area presently racked by drought. The levels of some dams dropped from 80% last year to less than 10% this year.
Stefanie Ronaldson, a scientist employed at the Kruger park, said its managers are worried about the ”severe implications” the sugar cane project will have for rivers.
The developers are planning to pipe irrigation water from the Blyde river upstream. The Blyde feeds the Olifants river, one of the main sources of the game park’s water supplies. ”What happens upstream will have an impact on our water supply,” said Ronaldson.
Kruger park authorities are in negotiations with the Mozambican government about plans to raise a dam wall downstream on the Olifants river because the neighbouring country needs more water.
The proposed dam is bad news for the game park because it will ”flood the Olifants gorge, demolishing crocodile habitat”, Ronaldson said. ”We are negotiating with Mozambique to stop plans to build the dam, but if even less water reaches the downstream communities in Mozambique, our argument will not be very strong.”
Hoedspruit citrus farmers Graham Barnes and Pieter Scholtz are the driving force behind the sugar cane project. ”The Limpopo government is very enthusiastic about the project,” said Scholtz. ”This is one of Limpopo’s three key development projects.”
Premier Ngoako Ramathlodi confirmed his commitment to the venture in a state-of-the-province presentation in February. He said it could generate more than R240-million a year. The provincial government is hosting an international donors’ conference next week, where the project will be showcased as the province’s main agricultural enterprise.
Scholtz said he is looking for investors for a sugar mill that will be part of the farming venture; and of the 13 000ha that will be planted with sugar cane, 5 600ha will be allocated to small-scale farmers from the region.
Scholtz and Barnes have approached one of South Africa’s biggest sugar companies to become the main financial backer in the project, which, Scholtz said, will cost R1-billion. They have also approached the Development Bank of South Africa.
Scholtz admitted that a formal environmental impact assessment of the proposal has not yet been carried out, but says he hired independent consultants to assess the project’s sustainability. He says he has been working closely with water affairs officials in Limpopo.
”The pipeline from the Blyde river will result in water being better managed and evenly distributed to farmers,” he said. Sharon Pollard, water resource manager for the Association for Water and Rural Development (Award), has been working in the river catchment areas of Limpopo for more than a decade.
”You can plant sugar anywhere, even in the Karoo, but you need water to support it,” she said. ”With the little water available here, you have to ask whether this is the best way water can be used.”
Derek du Toit, a community consultant working in Hoedspruit, said farmers in the Blyde river catchment areas are already fighting over the allocation of water.
”There was a big squabble recently because some farmers were apparently using more than their fair share. The sugar cane will only put more pressure on the water supply,” he said.
Steve Davis, of the Sugar Milling Research Institute at the University of Natal, said the project will need large-scale irrigation.
”The water resources available have to be checked and cleared with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry before such a project can be considered viable. But you have to keep in mind that this sugar mill will provide significant job creation in the area,” he added. Davis said that despite the current low world sugar price, most of South Africa’s produce is sold on contract and attracts a significantly higher price here than it does in the world market.
Spokesperson for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry Temba Khumalo and Limpopo water affairs coordinator Avashoni Magada told the Mail & Guardian last week they knew nothing about the proposed Hoedspruit project.