Farmers in urgent need of financial assistance
Urgent action is now needed
from the government to
provide financial assistance
to farmers as soon as
possible to enable them to
plant on a large scale during
the new planting season.
So said Omri van Zyl,
executive director of
agricultural body Agri SA,
who welcomed the recent
announcement by Minister
of Cooperative Governance
and Traditional Affairs
Des van Rooyen to declare
eight provinces, excluding
Gauteng, as national
drought disaster areas.
Agricultural exports have
been highlighted by the
department of trade and
industry as a sector with
major growth potential.
Minister of Trade and
Industry, Dr Rob Davies,
also announced that as
part of the latest Industrial
Policy Action Plan (Ipap),
sector-specific incentives
would be developed around
agri-processing.
“The announcement
by government, together
with the motion adopted
by parliament to declare
the drought as a national
disaster, lays the basis for
comprehensive financial
aid by government,” he said,
adding that government
and organised agriculture
now had to ensure
optimised and sustainable
food production as well
as to protect producers’
production bases.
He said that financing
was also required to assist
farmers with their carryover
debt. “This will enable
them to recover quickly and
to start with production
after the drought,” said van
Zyl.
A major concern, in his
view, is the Western Cape
– one of SA’s largest agriexport
regions – where
the expected rainfall in
the Swartland and West
Coast region has not yet
occurred.
Van Zyl added however
that agricultural producers
should not lose hope as
a “notable weakening
of the El Nino weather
phenomenon” was forecast
by weather experts.
The announcement to
declare eight provinces as
disaster areas was made
by Van Rooyen following
an inter-ministerial task
team meeting to examine
government’s response
to the drought and water
shortages.
In a statement, Van
Rooyen said the impact
of the drought had
been exacerbated by
the poor state of water
infrastructure. To make
matters worse, he said
some provinces were not
making resources available
on time for immediate
response measures and
were instead relying on
national government to
take action.
Van Rooyen said, with the
assistance of state-owned
entities, the private sector
and NGOs, government
had drilled boreholes and
provided drought relief in
many provinces. “Among
the measures that should
be considered in addressing
the drought conditions are
disaster management plans
and other seasonal related
contingency plans,” said
van Rooyen.
CAPTION
Drought and fires in the Western Cape have devastated agricultural production in the
province. Photo: Agri SA.
