Drought hits pockets hard

The prolonged drought has delivered a doubly cruel blow to the poor, doubling vegetable prices and turning village gardens into dust bowls.

According to the stall holders at the KwaDukuza market, since the drought set in last year the prices of vegetables and fruits have almost doubled. They have been forced to get much of their product from farms as far afield as Cape Town and the Free State.

Maya Naidoo from Stanger Manor, who has been a stall holder for the past 25 years, said business is not going well. She said her customers can no longer afford the prices of her products and they are making a huge loss.

“In December 2015 I was able to get 10kg of potatoes from the suppliers for R20 to R50. But now it costs me R80 and more, forcing me to sell them at a higher price starting from R90,” said Naidoo.

The price of onions has gone up from R45 for 10kg a year ago to R120.

Licks Naicker, who rents four stalls said that most of their customers are people from rural areas who use taxis.

“Some of our customers rely on grants as a monthly income and with these high prices, they cannot afford vegetables.”

He said tomatoes, onions and cabbages have doubled in price since last year.

“Cabbages were R8 to R15 each but now they are R20 to R22 for one. That is too expensive for our customers, but we have no choice, we also have to pay the rent and our employees,” said Naicker.

Asan Singh who has been selling vegetables and fruit for the past 30 years, said last week he lost R1050 when more than five cases of tomatoes delivered from Cape Town rotted.

“This was caused by the heat and the long distance from Cape Town. I used to get them from Limpopo but due to the drought, I have to get them from Cape Town,” said Singh.

He said it is a very difficult situation because they are now selling low quality vegetables at high prices.

People from the rural areas like Maphumulo and Ndwedwe usually buy in bulk because it is cheaper.

They are faced with the challenge of keeping their vegetables fresh as they were not in the best condition when they bought them from the market.

In rural areas, people used to grow their own vegetables in their gardens but due to the drought, none were planted last year. That increases the number of people who depend on the markets in the towns of the North Coast for vegetables.

According to spokesperson of the Organised Agricultural Forum in the KwaQwabe area of Maphumulo, Ndleko Gumede, there are 55 hectares of vegetable gardens but none of these produced vegetables last year.

“However we are hoping that this year the gardens will be producing vegetables again for the community,” said Gumede.

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