Western Cape wheat yields severely compromised by drought

['Lindi Botha', 'Lindi Botha Is An Agricultural Journalist', 'Communications Specialist Based In Nelspruit', 'South Africa. She Has Spent Over A Decade Reporting On Food Production', 'Has A Special Interest In Research', 'New Innovations', 'Technology That Aid Farmers In Increasing Their Margins', 'While Reducing Their Environmental Footprint. She Has Garnered Numerous Awards During Her Career', 'Including The International Federation Of Agricultural Journalists', 'Ifaj'] Farmer's Weekly SA 2025-09-18 17:24:42

Wheat farmers in the Western Cape are facing what has been described as a dire situation due to absent rainfall, which has curtailed harvests, as well as persistently low prices. Farmers have been eagerly awaiting rain over the past month to push wheat yields to adequate levels. The low yields are especially troubling since wheat prices have been depressed by lower global prices. Dirk Strydom, managing director of Nampo, said wheat farmers were being “squeezed”” “I’m really worried about the winter rainfall region. An application is currently pending to have the wheat import tariff increased to protect farmers from cheap imports.