On Friday 20th September, thousands of South Africans joined the global climate strike to register their objections to the continuing destruction of the planet. Among them was HBF partner the Philippi Horticultural Area Food and Farming Campaign (PHAFFC) who are fighting to reverse a series of land use decisions that will render Cape Town anything but food, climate and water resilient. This video documents their action on the day.
The Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) is a unique agricultural area in the heart of Cape Town. Research has shown that it is essential for the city’s water and food security, storm and flood management and that it could create much needed low skill jobs and address the city’s land reform needs.
The area is critical to the city’s water security as it is a primary recharge zone situated for the Cape Flats aquifer, which, with a proper aquifer management plan, could provide up to a 1/3rd of Cape Town’s potable water needs. With the region expected to become drier as global heating exacerbates, ensuring that the PHA remains unpaved is critical to preventing another day zero, or costly water technologies such as desalination. As a low lying floodplain, the PHA provides a catchment area to divert excess rainfall away from residential zones and vulnerable households, and thus mitigates flooding risks.
In addition to adequate groundwater, the PHA has a unique micro-climate that makes it a highly productive, drought resilient, all-year round vegetable growing area. This reflects in lower vegetable prices which moderate overall fresh produce costs. Households around the PHA, including those in informal settlements, are particularly reliant on the PHA for their food. It is thus essential to ensuring the supply of affordable healthy food, while mitigating against Higher food prices and food price shocks that the climate crisis is expected to cause.
In South Africa, where only 13% of land is suitable for crop production, and only 3% considered high potential, the PHA’s microclimate and abundant underground water make it into an irreplaceable asset.
Yet, over the past decade, the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government have approved land use and zoning applications that will replace 40% of the PHA’s agricultural land with 40 000 gated houses, mining, private schools, a private prison and office parks. As these decisions have put the city’s water and food security at risk, the PHA Food and Farming Campaign is challenging them in court. First hearings will be held on the 15th & 16th October.
Find out how you can support the campaign by following:
Twitter & Instagram: @PHAcampaign
Facebook: PHAfood&farmingcampaign
Website (coming soon): phacampaign.org.za