Water is a key input in the agriculture and agri-processing value chain. This page provides valuable resources for water resilience in the agri-processing sector and its sub-sectors.

Metering and monitoring for agri-processing in general:

A new report from the IFC, “Metering and Monitoring Guideline for the Agri-processing Sector in South Africa”, identifies ways agri-processing companies can substantially reduce their resource consumption through cutting-edge energy and water metering and monitoring systems. 

Click here to learn more

NATSURV

NATSURV is a group of reports, where research was funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC), that provides an overview of statistics and best practise in water and wastewater management for many manufacturing sub-sectors. The purpose of NATSURV documents is to review the status of the South African manufacturing industries with specific focus on national production capacity, specific water intake and effluent volumes, specific energy consumption rates and best practices in the management of water and effluent. This table presents the specific water intake for various industrial sectors. The NATSURV reports relevant to the agri-processing sector are listed and linked below, but others can be sourced from the WRC Knowledge Portal. Some are unfortunately a bit outdated, but they are in the process of being updated and even old reports can still provide sub-sector specific insight.

Beverages sub-sector:

• NATSURV 1 – Malt brewing industry Edition 2 (2016)
• NATSURV 3 – Soft drink industry Edition 1 (1987)
• NATSURV 3 – Soft drink industry Edition 2 (2015)
• NATSURV 5 – Sorghum malt and beer industries Edition 1 (1989)
• NATSURV 5 – Sorghum malt and beer industries Edition 2 (2017)
• Keep a lookout for a new NATSURV for Wineries (Terms of Reference was put out in July 2021, so check the WRC Knowledge Hub in mid-2023)

Clothing, textiles, footwear and leather sub-sector:

• NATSURV 10 – Tanning and leather finishing industry Edition 1 (1989)
• NATSURV 10 – Tanning and leather finishing industry Edition 2 (2017)
• NATSURV 13 – Textile industry Edition 1 (1993)
• NATSURV 13 – Textile industry Edition 2 (2017)

Dairy sub-sector:

• NATSURV 4 – Dairy industry (1989)
• Keep a lookout for the second edition of NATSURV 4 for the dairy industry (Terms of Reference was put out in July 2021, so check the WRC Knowledge Hub in mid-2023)

Fruit and vegetable sub-sector:

• NATSURV 6 – Edible oil industry Edition 1 (1989)
• NATSURV 6 – Edible oil industry Edition 2 (2017)
• NATSURV 19 – Fruit and vegetable processing industry (awaiting publication, was due in 2019)

European Commission Industrial Emissions Directive

The European Commission issued a directive for Industrial Emissions (2010/75/EU) towards Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, resulting in a number of best practise publications by sector, but each are applicable more broadly across the agri-processing industry and at a technology specific level of detail.

• Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Food, Drink and Milk Industries
• Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Tanning of Hides and Skins
• Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for the Textiles Industry
• Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document for Industrial Cooling Systems

Here are more water resilience resources by agri-processing sub-sector:

Beverages sub-sector:

• Sustainable wine:
  • Environmental sustainability guidelines by Integrated Production of Wine (IPW)
  • Guidelines for the management of wastewater and solid waste at existing wineries
  • Tips for post-harvest practices during drought conditions
  • Water footprint assessment for wine grape production
• Breweries:
  • Environmentally sustainable beneficiation of brewery effluent: algal ponding, constructed wetland, hydroponic vegetables and aquaculture
• All beverages:
  • Water management in the food and drink industry: an overview of what water resilience entails

Clothing, textiles, footwear and leather sub-sector:

• National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa:
  • Resource efficiency and cleaner production best practice guideline for the South African textile industry
  • Resource efficiency and cleaner production best practice guideline for the South African clothing industry

Dairy sub-sector:

• International Dairy Federation (IDF)
  • Wastewater treatment in dairy processing: Innovative solutions for sustainable wastewater management
  • The IDF guide to Water Footprint Methodology for the dairy sector

Fruit and vegetable sub-sector:

• Water and wastewater management in the South African fruit and vegetable processing industry
• Water footprint accounting for selected fruit and vegetable crops in South Africa