ROOT VEGETABLES
The lash of lockdown: a potato farmer’s story When Covid-19 struck South Africa, Limpopo Province potato farmer Johan Holtzhausen pulled out all the stops to protect his work force against the pandemic.
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ooled from a radius of 45 kilometres in the valley between Roosenekal and Steelpoort, the staff of Ortus Boerdery (farming co-op) were safe and secure, their well being and work properly taken care of. Unfortunately Holtzhausen became the only person from the co-up to contract the coronavirus; bed-ridden for at least three days, on oxygen, fearing for his life, and self-isolated from his next of kin. The #WhenHopeWhispers campaign by Potatoes South Africa (PSA), launched some three weeks ago to look at the human side of the industry at a time of duress, could hardly ask for a more inspirational story of how to weather the Covid-19 storm. Holtzhausen says that one of the biggest challenges was complying with safety measures in curbing infection through the movement of farm labourers. Thankfully, it is an isolated environment where most of the permanent workers find themselves in a secluded situation. However, when it came to making use of temporary workers, things got trickier.
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Producer Johan Holtzhausen from Limpopo Province.
Temps must be transported on a regular basis. Due to social distancing the costs in this regard doubled as you cannot transport the pre-Covid-19 amount of people at the same time. The way people had to be kept safe, by spacing them apart, literally meant two trips instead of one. It added at least an hour to traveling time. It also meant that where before transport started from 7 am, it now started from about 4 am. In addition, workers had to be scanned for possible symptoms. Of course, Ortus Boerdery provided sanitizer and PPE gear, having severe financial implications, due to the high demand coupled with hefty pricing at the onset of the pandemic. Eventually the cost escalation forced them to suspend transport for temporary workers because they simply could not afford it alongside a wage hike. Another logistical aspect to last year’s lockdown, especially during the early stages of the outbreak, was the availability and accessibility of parts and agricultural necessities such as chemicals. The movement of ocean freight was affected by the delay of vessels calling at the ports, a consequence of supply chain restrictions which is still the case. As a result, producers have since learnt how to plan for the unthinkable. The impact brought on by Covid-19 trade TO PAGE 18
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