Farmers affected by drought get $500k
The Government will contribute $500,000 to a drought relief fund to help farmers survive through ‘‘one of the worst droughts in living memory’’.
On Monday, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor received a letter from local government leaders, asking him to match a $500,000 contribution to newly established drought relief fund.
The fund was to help establish a secure line of transport to get feed to farms where it was most needed, as well as helping to alleviate the financial burdens faced by farmers.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council announced on Monday that a drought relief fund was being set up by the region’s four mayors and the council chairman this week, with the cash to be used to help farmers through the drought emergency.
‘‘Mayoral relief funds help communities to get back on their feet after adverse events, with local communities and councils directing funding to where it’s needed most,’’ O’Connor said.
‘‘Access to feed is the biggest acute issue facing droughtaffected farmers right now. Feed is in very short supply in the North Island, so most has to be shipped up from the South.
‘‘This funding will go towards subsidising the transport costs of getting feed up from the South Island.
‘‘There are also a lot of heartwarming cases of farmers helping each other through communitydriven feed drives, such as the donations of hay transported from Wairarapa to Hawke’s Bay and another planned from the King Country. It’s great to see,’’ he added.
The Civil Defence Rural Advisory Group, the lead agency for the drought response, would establish criteria and the process for distributing the funding. The funds would be held in trust by the Hawke’s Bay Disaster Relief Trust.