‘NC still needs more rain’

FAR MORE rain is needed for Northern Cape farmers to be able to limit the impact of the current drought conditions.

This is according to the CEO of AgriNC, Henning Myburgh, who said that while the thundershowers this week were much needed, a great deal more rain was required for the agriculture sector to find any relief.

Myburgh said that Monday’s had been largely isolated in and around Kimberley while extensive parts of the Province were still desperately waiting for rain.

“There was some rain around Kimberley, with 20mm recorded, while surrounding areas like Douglas saw between 10mm and 18mm of rainfall,” Myburgh said. “Upington and Griquatown had none.

“While the soil is wet in parts, no pools were able to form on the ground and there is still a desperate need for water. The drought is still not over.”

More thundershowers have been predicted for Kimberley with a 60 percent chance of rain later today.

Partly cloudy conditions with isolated thundershowers have been forecast for tomorrow and Friday along with temperatures in the high 20s.

More rain is predicted for Saturday, Sunday and throughout next week. Rain has also been forecast for most parts of the Province over the course of the next fortnight.

Myburgh added that while these rains were overdue, all was still not lost for farmers in the Province.

“With regard to crop farming, the Northern Cape relies on irrigation. Good rains will see the levels in the rivers and dams rise so it’s not too late if we have more rain soon,” he said. “If it rains between now and about March, we will have grazing for our stock farmers as it will take about two to three months for the land to recover from the drought.

“If not we could be sitting with a major problem come winter.”