{"id":54982,"date":"2019-06-27T06:01:21","date_gmt":"2019-06-27T04:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/water-quotas-increased-from-40-to-85-20190626-2\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T10:48:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T08:48:23","slug":"water-quotas-increased-from-40-to-85-20190626-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/water-quotas-increased-from-40-to-85-20190626-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Water quotas increased from 40% to 85%"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

IN an economic boost for beleaguered Gamtoos River Valley farmers drawing water from Kouga Dam, the government has relaxed stringent water quotas.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The easing of restrictions \u2013 from 40% of farmers\u2019 allocated annual drawings to 85% from July 1 \u2013 comes on the back of discussions between the Department of Water and Sanitation, Kouga Dam custodians, the Gamtoo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

s Irrigation Board (GIB) and the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality on Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move comes as the Kouga Dam\u2019s water level remains steady at about 45%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The restrictions, introduced in 2017 when the dam level sank critically low, saw farmers able to draw just 20% of their annual water allocations in mid-2018 \u2013 a move which signalled cutbacks in citrus and cash crop production in a valley renowned locally and internationally for its quality produce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GIB CEO Rienette Colesky described the easing of restrictions as \u201cgood news for farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe past two years of severe restrictions put an exceptional strain on farmers in the region,\u201d she said. \u201cIf [severe restrictions] carried on for a third year, the consequences would have been dire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to information from GIB stakeholders, the strain of restrictions had manifested in a 20.8% reduction in employment of fulltime and seasonal labourers, translating into a loss of R51.4-million to lower income families in lost wages over the past year, directly and indirectly affecting 6 640 individuals, said Colesky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colesky said that the last maize crop from the valley was delivered in 2016. Without restrictions, about 17,000 tons of maize is produced in the valley annually. In the absence of restrictions, major retailers purchased fresh produce from farms in the Loerie, Hankey and Patensie areas to the tune of R107-million annually, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the past two years the ability of these vegetable farmers to deliver on the contracts signed with retailers was put in jeopardy due to the drought. Dairy farmers had to move their livestock to greener pastures outside the valley,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

GIB Chairman and citrus farmer in the valley, Tertius Meyer, said, \u201cWe are still facing a drought, if you look at the below-average rainfall we\u2019ve received over the past 12 months. So, the easing of restrictions makes a significant difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day it\u2019s still not the full [100%] allocation, but it\u2019s something. More [water-intensive] vegetable crops will probably start being planted again, which in turn will create more employment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fellow board member and citrus farmer, Khaya Katoo, said the relaxed restrictions would see him plant more saplings. The citrus harvested in years to come would be predominantly for export to markets like Europe, the Middle East, China and the US, he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IN an economic boost for beleaguered Gamtoos River Valley farmers drawing water from Kouga Dam, the government has relaxed stringent water quotas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":54984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"044f3966-85b3-455d-a2c1-994ab1887121","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_priv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quotas increased from 40% to 85% | Kouga Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/water-quotas-increased-from-40-to-85-20190626-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Water quotas increased from 40% to 85%\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IN an economic boost for beleaguered Gamtoos River Valley farmers drawing water from Kouga Dam, the government has relaxed stringent water quotas.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/kougaexpress\/water-quotas-increased-from-40-to-85-20190626-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kouga Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PEExpress1\/\" \/>\n<meta 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The relaxing of restrictions on farmers\u2019 water allocations from the Kouga Dam will help re-ignite economic growth in the valley, say experts. 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