Drought funding allocation worry

Agri SA curious how R553m will be spent

WHILE more than R500-million has been allocated to assist farmers during one of the country’s worst droughts, the agricultural sector is left wondering where the money will go and who will benefit.

During his mid-term budget speech on Wednesday, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said R553-million would be set aside for drought relief, over and above the R1.6-billion already designated for emergency assistance to farmers.

However, Agri SA executive director Omri van Zyl is curious to see how this money will be spent, and said they were surprised to hear that R341-million had been earmarked for a desalination project, while only R212-million would go towards equipment and supplies for struggling farmers.

Besides concerns over the allocation of drought-relief funds, the growing trend of farmers looking to sell their land as interest in agricultural property wanes also raises more red flags about Agri SA’s main concern – food security.

Agri Development Solutions chairman Johann Bornman said the latest figures showed that the Northern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Free State and Limpopo had seen more farms enter the market than were being sold.

“Looking at the national picture, from May to September, we saw a 1.7% increase in the available farms, which does not seem too harsh,” he said.

“But keep in mind some areas have seen some rainfall in recent weeks, improving their figures, while others are still experiencing extreme drought that has led to more farmers wanting to sell their land.”

According to the latest statistics, a total of 19 605 farms were for sale across the country at the end of last month.

Compared to May, 6.3% more farms were sold in the Eastern Cape last month. This possibly indicates that large parts of the Eastern Cape were not as badly affected by the drought.

Bornman said the latest figures should become available within the next few days, and that could help paint a more up-to-date picture of the agricultural property landscape.

Van Zyl believes these figures show that South Africa’s production base is eroding, raising more concerns about food security.

“We would like the money [the R553-million] to go through an organisation like the Land Bank, as they have the best idea of where the worst affected farmers are,” he said.

Agri Eastern Cape president Doug Stern agreed with Van Zyl, saying that funds should go through the proper channels to reach the most needy and deserving farmers.

“In August the northern parts of the province had some rain, but we also saw one of the coldest Octobers in recent history,” Stern said.

“The little feed crops we were able to grow after the rain were all killed by the frost that followed.”

He said the rain forecast for the rest of the year looked bleak and that stock farmers were in desperate need of feed for newly born lambs and calves.

“We need to know what is planned with the money allocated for drought relief. We need to know that the distribution and application of those funds will be fair and effective,” Stern said.