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National Planning Commission hosts irrigation roundtable

sanews.gov.za · 3h · first reportShare

National Planning Commission hosts irrigation roundtable The National Planning Commission (NPC) and the Water Research Commission (WRC) have jointly convened the National Irrigation Development Roundtable under the theme: “Irrigation as Development: Securing Livelihoods, Transforming Lives”. The roundtable brought together stakeholders and government representatives to discuss irrigation development in the context of South Africa’s uneven rainfall and water scarcity. “Most cultivated land remains rainfed and vulnerable to climate variability and change, while agriculture accounts for the largest share of national freshwater use. The agriculture sector utilises more than 60% of national freshwater. “Irrigation development and broader agricultural water management play a critical role in stabilising production and enabling the cultivation of higher-value crops in South Africa, yet the performance and distribution of resources are highly uneven,” the NPC WRC said in a joint statement. Sev