Agri SA calls for support for drought-stricken farmers

The drought in South Africa is reaching critical proportions, with the Northern Cape, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo the hardest hit, according to Christo van der Rheede, deputy executive director at Agri SA. He said that the time had come for South Africans to join hands to help alleviate the plight of drought-stricken farmers.

“We, therefore, again appeal to South Africans to contribute to Agri SA’s drought disaster fund. We have about R50 000 left of the R20 million drought aid donated in 2015,” Van der Rheede said.

It was crucial that drought aid was distributed as cost-effectively as possible, and Agri SA was consequently looking into the possibility of sourcing feed in locations as close as possible to the drought-stricken areas, he said. “We are, for example, investigating the possibility of sourcing feed from the irrigation areas along the Orange River to be sent to the nearby areas in the Northern Cape.”

Nicol Jansen, president of Agri Northern Cape, added that the area affected by the drought in that province was expanding due to the poor rainfall received so far this year. The little rain received was sporadic, and land was thus depleted of grazing.

“The support [received from] South African public relief organisations did not bring an end to the drought, but it gave us hope to carry on,” he said.

Tommie Klopper, spokesperson for Boere in Nood, said the drought in Limpopo “was a nightmare”. The districts of Lephalale, Gravelotte, Thsepise and Thabazimbi, among others, were exceedingly dry. There was an increase in deaths reported among game species such as kudu, blue wildebeest and nyala. Some cattle ranchers had been forced to decrease their herds by as much as 50%, he added.

Meanwhile, widespread rain was urgently needed across almost the entire summer grain production region of South Africa. According to Grain SA, almost no planting had yet taken place in the western part of the region, while good rainfall was also urgently needed in the eastern part to allow farmers to continue planting, as well as for the benefit of grain that had already been planted.

A Grain SA survey found that maize plantings in Mpumalanga had almost been completed, while soya bean plantings were still under way. Minimal planting had been undertaken in the eastern Free State at the time of going to print, with the optimal planting window for maize in the area having ended on 15 November.

the little rain received was sporadic

Jaco Breytenbach, a grain producer near Fouriesburg, said that about 70% of the crops in the district had been planted, while the number of hectares planted petered out to the western part of the eastern Free State.

The optimum planting window in North West and central Free State started midNovember and lasted until mid-December, with conditions in the area generally very dry.

Producer Marnus Bothma of Mareetsane said although the preparation for planting in the district had been completed, no planting had yet been undertaken. “Although we can plant maize until deep in December, the optimum planting window for groundnuts expires around 10 December,” he added. – Annelie Coleman