Crop failure is a disaster

THEFREE STATEprovince declared its drought a disaster, with all municipalities and districts affected. “Even if it rains now or tomorrow, this drought is not going to be over,” Mafa Mokoaqo, manager of the Free State Agriculture Department’s disaster management risk unit, said yesterday. “The rains are sporadic, they are not going to be enough to resolve the drought issues.” The province produced 44 percent of the nation’s maize in the 2014 season. The worst drought since 1992 this year hurt produce in the Free State and North West provinces, which accounted for almost two-thirds of maize output last year, and prompted the nation to start importing the grain. The Crop Estimates Committee predicts this season’s harvest will be 9.84 million metric tons, the smallest since 2007. – Bloomberg