8 IMPORTANCE OF ORANGE RIVER PROJECT IN SOUTH AFRICA
The orange river project increased irrigation thereby creating more land for agricultural development for example at the Buchuburg dam an increment of 28000 hectares of agricultural land was realized while at Torquay more than 1200 hectares of land was added onto the existing land. An increase in agricultural land also increased crop production to over 25%, especially in the production of fruits, vegetables, maize, wheat , groundnuts, cotton, and many others which were grown on a large scale thereby guaranteeing food security for the South Africans. The dangers of severe droughts over a large area of the Karoo were greatly reduced through the artificial application of water and South Africa became a major producer of wool as a result of improved sheep rearing in the region. Flood control was also undertaken through the building of dams, stabilizing of the river banks well as reducing silting, and all these reduced damages. It also helped to save funds that would have been spent ...