Farmers desert drought-stricken land

RAY SMUTS WITH NO let-up in sight, the crippling drought in the Western Cape has assumed such extreme proportions that local government might be compelled to request that large parts of the province be declared disaster areas. Dam levels are below 50% and the Cape Town Unicity has warned that if more stringent saving measures are not implemented the city could be ‘dry within nine months.' Unable to buy much-needed provisions or pay their labourers, some farmers have already left their properties to seek work elsewhere. A provincial government spokesman says 490 farmers in affected areas are receiving government food subsidies for which R8 million has been allocated as well as R1 million for sinking boreholes.