Welcome to the South African Fruit and Wine Industry Initiative project website.
Climate change is predicted to directly impact South Africa's mean annual temperature and rainfall ranges, influencing pest and disease distributions,
flowering and fruiting seasons, and ground water resources. Climate change also impacts indirectly, through the growing awareness amongst consumers
and the corresponding demand for carbon-efficient business processes. The agricultural sector is a large source of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
through activities such as land-use change, agrochemical application and fossil fuel use. In addition, South Africa's energy supply is large
coal-based, and this means that when compared to our competitive agricultural exporting nations which utilize more renewable energy sources,
our carbon footprint for is large.
On the positive side, the sector is highlighted as offering significant mitigation potential through the promotion of conservation farming techniques and
technologies which increase the carbon sequestration of land-use based practices. What is needed is an understanding of the current greenhouse gas emissions
that result from agri-production and processing activities, and how best to reduce these while maintaining product quality and quantity. That is the purpose of
this project, which aims to be interactive and informative to provide the users, like yourself, with the information you need to undertake a carbon
footprint audit, understand what the results mean, and recommend actions you can take to improve the carbon efficiency of your systems.
The Greening Game: Where do the risks and opportunities exist within your supply chain?
Take part in the carbon
calculator and see what your profile looks like.
Doing a carbon footprint is much more than putting a label on your product; it's about evaluating
where your major energy requirements are, where the GHG emission hotspots are within your supply chain,
and understanding how to become more efficient through all your business processes. With electricity tariff hikes a reality and a
governmental GHG monitoring plan imminent, those who use their initiative and are early actors in this area will be better prepared
for any mandatory requirements in the future and will have sustainable business practices embedded in their businesses that will
secure their place in the market going forward.
Nicholas Stern: 'I got it wrong on climate change – it's far, far worse'
2013
Author of 2006 review speaks out on danger to economies as planet absorbs less carbon and is 'on track' for 4C rise.
Lord Stern, author of the government-commissioned review on climate change that became the reference work for politicians and green campaigners, now says he underestimated the risks, and should have been more "blunt" about the threat posed to the economy by rising temperatures.
Click here to read full article.
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Carbon tax from 2015, as new biofuels incentive is unveiled
2013
The South African government has confirmed that a carbon tax will be phased in from January 1, 2015, as part of South Africa′s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and encourage energy efficiency measures.
An updated policy paper will be published by the end of March for further comment and consultation.
The National Treasury′s current plan is to initiate the first carbon-tax phase between 2015 and 2020, starting with a tax at a rate of R120/t of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent, increasing by 10% a year during the first implementation period.
A basic tax-free threshold of 60% is proposed, as well as offset percentages of 5% to 10% to allow “emission-intensive and trade-exposed industries to invest in projects outside their normal operations to help reduce their carbon tax liabilities”.
There was also mention of the increased CO2 emissions tax for passenger vehicles from R75 to R90 for every gram of emissions per kilometre (gCO2/km) above the 120 gCO2/km level. In the case of double cabs the increase proposed is from R100 to R125 for every gCO2/km above the 175 gCO2/km threshold.
Read full article here.
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FEEDBACK ON THE POST HARVEST INNOVATION′S Energy Audit Initiative
2013
Koos Bouwer recently provided an update on progress of this initiative. To date, a total of 54 pack houses signed contracts with the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) at the CSIR to participate in this initiative.
Of these, a total of 25 energy audits have already been conducted. The report revealed significant potential savings. The following is an extract from Koos′ report:
“An analysis was made on the energy saving recommendations of the 25 completed audits. The recommendations were grouped in saving categories. A summary of the impact that these energy audits on the energy and cost saving potential is given in the table below:
These values apply to the 2011 season. These 25 facilities had a total electricity cost of R65.6m during that year with a total consumption of 86m kWh. The R18.25m saving in electricitycosts is 28% of the total electricity cost for these facilities. The recommended savings need a once-off investment of R21.4m that will be covered in a 1.17 year payback period.
The potential saving of 23.9m kWh in electricity is equivalent to a reduction of 24 000 tons of CO2 emissions”.
For more information contact Koos on koosbouwer@iib.ws.
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PAPER: Climate Change in the Western Cape of South Africa: Trends, Projections and Implications for Chill Unit Accumulation.
2013
Abstract
The Western Cape region of South Africa, a major producer of deciduous fruit, has been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change. Climatic trends were analysed on a monthly basis for 12 rural meteorological stations across the region for the period 1967 to 2007. Significant warming trends were found for midto late-summer and end-winter to spring for daily minimum temperature (Tmin), and for mid-summer, autumn and spring for daily maximum temperature (Tmax). Chill unit accumulation has decreased significantly, particularly in autumn. Air temperatures are predicted to increase by a further 1-2°C within the next 30 years, together with decreasing rainfall especially in autumn/winter. An analysis of possible impacts of regional projections of climate change on deciduous fruit production was conducted, with the emphasis on chilling accumulation and dormancy in apples. The warmer or otherwise more marginal production areas, and high chill cultivars are likely to be the first to experience negative impacts of warming.
Click here for the full paper here.
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PAPER: From graft to bottle′–Analysis of energy use in viticulture and wine production and the potential for solar renewable technologies.
2013
Abstract
The practice of viticulture and winemaking is highly dependent upon the weather and climate. Any future changes in the seasons, their duration, local maximum, minimum and mean temperatures, frost occurrence and heat accumulation could have a major impact on the winegrowing areas of the world.
Given that the winegrowing industry has substantial energy requirements and is directly influenced by any changes in climate, the industry should be at the forefront in promoting the case of energy efficiency and the adoption of renewable technologies. Solar renewables in the form of solar thermal and photovoltaics (PVs)offer a complimentary solution to many winegrowing processes. This paper examines the limited number of world wineries that have adopted solar renewables and presents a viable case for their wide scale integration into the industry.
The paper presents a range of viticultural and winemaking processes where solar energy can be directly or indirectly applied and suggests the potential for solar energy in making substantial savings in both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. In 2005, almost 8 million hectares were under vines producing 40.2 million tonnes of grapes for crushing. The total global energy use within the winemaking industry is estimated at over 105 PJ emitting nearly 16million tonnes of CO2. If ancillary industries, such as bottle making and transportation are included, the total carbon footprint of the industry is estimated at over 76 million tonnes of CO2.This paper calculates that if the commercial winemaking establishments in the ‘developed’ wine producing regions of the world integrated a ‘small’ solar installation into their wineries, the potential savings are 18.3% or 19.24 PJ of the energy used in the global winemaking industry. From Graft to Bottle_1985-1993.
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WINE NEWS: CRAZY WEATHER IMPACTING AUSTRAILIAN SEASON & PERU A SIGNFICANTLY GROWING WINE INDUSTRY
2013
Grapes cooking on the vines Grapevines have gone into shutdown around Australia as they try to protect themselves against the heat. Experts say this protection method is killing crops as the vines are basically cooking their own grapes from the inside. And its expected these damaged vines will lose more than 15% of this season's crops to the heat, reports ABC News. Click here to read the full article.
Australia: Sunburned grapes to raise shiraz price
Wine grape growers are facing losses of up to a third of their crops as sustained heat stresses vines and sunburns fruit. The national heatwave has affected production in some of the biggest wine regions and triggered fear among growers that prices for varieties such as Shiraz could rise, The Australian Financial Review reports.
Source: Daily Wine News - 10/01/2013 Click here to read the full article.
Ideal weather for 2013 vintage in Margaret River region (Aus)
Margaret River wine producers are poised for another excellent vintage, following similar growing conditions as last year. Credaro Wines owner Matt Credaro told the Margaret River Times the recent fine weather presented ideal conditions in the run up to a vintage. He said if the weather remained dry and sunny, this year′s vintage would be similar to last year, which was one of the best on record. Click here to read the full article.
Grape exports grow 152% (Peru)
Peruvian grape exports amounted to USD 32.7 million last October, an increase of 152.2% compared to the same period of 2011, when shipments totaled USD 12.9 million, indicated the Association of Exporters (ADEX). According to the exporter guild, the increase was due to the early departure of the Northern grapes and increased acres in producing regions like Ica and the incorporation of new areas of cultivation in Piura, Lambayeque, La Libertad, among others. One of the most representative markets this grape season is Asia, where China stands outs for the volume of shipments concentrated mainly in the Red Globe variety, due to the light colour preference and large calibre. Click here to read the full article.
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SOLUTIONS FOR DROUGHT: POMEGRANATES UNDER MULCH IN INDIA
2013
The pomegranate cultivators in Marathwada are expecting an above average yield this season, despite water shortages in the region. This is due to the adoption of a technique not commonly used in the area - mulching.
40ha of land under pomegranate cultivation have already adopted mulching to preserve moisture in the soil. The rest of the region is expected to have incorporated the change by the first week of February. There are around 1,200ha of land under pomegranate cultivation in the region.
Pomegranate grower Baliram Kale said he had put all his 400 plants under mulch. "This will save 60% of total water required in traditional method and improve the quality of yield. Last year without the technique, I sold my crop at a price of Rs 60,000 ($1100 US) per tonne. But in the current season, I should get more because of the good quality. Moreover, I can now mange irrigation with the help of a small quantity of water," he said.
The agriculture department offered 50% subsidy to the farmers on the total cost of the project. Mulching costs around Rs 22,000 per ha.
Source: Fresh Plaza 13/01/2013 – originally from timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
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This project is truly a collaboration of all the players in the industry and its success relies on the active involvement of the industry
representatives. This is not just another mandatory requirement for exporting purposes- the value lies in the user undertaking the carbon
footprinting exercise to gain an understanding of their GHG emission profile through their section of the supply chain, and what it means
in terms of efficiency opportunities or potential financial risk going forward.
Please do not hesitate to contact the project team, or your industry representative if you have any comments, suggestions or questions.
We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Project Co-ordinator: Hugh Campbell
Tel: 021 882 8470, Email: hugh@fruitgro.co.za
Project Manager: Shelly Fuller
Email: shelly@climatefruitandwine.co.za
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Increased severity of drought is predicted to be one of the major
impacts of climate change to the agricultural
sector in South Africa, particularly within the Western Cape,
the major fruit & wine region.
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