Rooting for veggies: Save Philippi farms‚ says agriculture MEC
As if the water crisis wasn’t bad enough‚ Cape Town risks running out of cheap fresh vegetables unless it protects a 1‚900-hectare veggie patch nestled in suburbia.
That’s the resounding message from a nine-month study into the viability of the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA)‚ a massive stretch of farmlands being steadily eroded by property developers and informal settlements.
The PHA supplies most of Cape Town’s fresh vegetables thanks to its favourable micro-climate and plentiful water supply – it overlays a giant freshwater aquifer.
But years of urban creep‚ including two current housing development applications‚ have prompted an outcry from many farmers who feel their livelihood is under threat.
Source: timeslive.co.za
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