Department of Agriculture combats desertification
THE PROVNCIAL Agriculture Department has invested R21 million in the 2020/21 financial year and R29m in the 2021/22 financial year in ecological infrastructure for the restoration and protection of natural ecosystems in efforts to combat desertification and drought.
Agriculture MEC Dr Ivan Meyer said investing in activities that protected and restored natural ecosystems would boost the province’s recovery from Covid-19, communities and the economy.
Meyer said the province had experienced at least three disasters per year, including the current drought in the Central and Little Karoo and the northern parts of Matzikama, which resulted in bi-annual veld assessments being undertaken to monitor and evaluate the condition of the veld.
Climate change and risk assessment scientist, Professor Stephanie Midgley, said relentless warming together with increasingly variable rainfall would increase the risk of soil and vegetation drying, resulting in land degradation and soil erosion.
“As a result, more multiyear severe droughts may become part of the future that farmers must plan for,” said Midgley.
Meyer’s spokesperson Daniel Johnson said the department had developed a strategy to mitigate these risks, the SmartAgri Plan, with climate-smart actions already being implemented.
“Two priority projects (of the plan) will contribute directly to building resilience against desertification,” Johnson said. “First, restored ecological infrastructure for increased landscape productivity, socio-ecological resilience and soil carbon sequestration. Second, clearing invasive alien plants in mountain catchments improves water security and job-creation.”
Johnson said projects funded by the department to restore ecological infrastructure included the recent commissioning of the Holsloot Weir near Rawsonville, the clearing of 34 352 hectares of invasive alien vegetation, which created about 1 100 “green” jobs, area-wide ecological planning and fencing in the Koup area, and the construction of stock-watering systems that mitigated the impact of droughts.
“Preventing further land degradation requires awareness among our stakeholders. The department (creates) this through capacity-building interventions such as farmer days and workshops. In addition, our Junior LandCare programme plays a critical role in developing awareness and addressing issues that directly impact healthy ecosystems,” said Meyer.
“Restoring and protecting our natural ecosystems reduces the loss of productive agricultural land. The availability of fertile agricultural land and water directly links to our ability to ensure food security and a thriving agricultural economy,” said Johnson.