Over 35 000 chickens have died, and more than 5 000 were culled due to load shedding. Photo: iStock
As the country suffers persistent load shedding, over 35 000 chickens have died, and more than 5 000 were culled due to the deliberate power cuts in Gauteng.
This was revealed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in a reply to the party’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mbali Hlophe.
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bronwynn Engelbrecht said the impact of load shedding is causing the price of chickens to go up as poultry farmers cannot keep up with the supply and demand from retailers.
Engelbrecht said broiler farmers are the hardest hit by the ongoing load shedding.
“This is because broiler farmers require more electricity during the first week of the chick’s placement to maintain the required temperature using infrared lights.
“Furthermore, the growth rate is affected because chickens are non-nocturnal feeders. During load shedding, there won’t be light, and chickens are unable to eat. Once feed intake is affected, the growth rate will be compromised,” she said.
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Engelbrecht added that the rolling blackouts negatively impacts farmers with egg-laying chickens because the grading machine requires power to grade eggs into different sizes.
“Delays in grading eggs will mean that the farmers will not be able to meet the high market demand, resulting in business losses. Load shedding has also provided the perfect opportunity for criminals to steal equipment like borehole pump motors, electrical cables, and transformers.”
Engelbrecht said load shedding has cost poultry farmers around R2 million.
“Load shedding has an impact not only on the unemployment rate in the province but also on the price of basic food. The DA will continue to push for broadening the zero-VAT food basket to include essentials like bone-in chicken, beef, margarine, baby food and soup powder,” Engelbrecht said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Farm dumps 12 000 litres of milk due to Eskom’s load shedding
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