FS Drought: DA calls for disaster aid
23 February 2015
Farming communities in the Free State are struggling to cope with what could be the worst drought in 20 years. The drought is threatening not only food security, but also the livelihoods of farmers, farm workers and farming communities as a whole.
I have today written to Premier Ace Magashule, the MEC for COGTA, Olly Mlamleli, and the MEC for Agriculture, Mamiki Qabathe, to establish a task team inclusive of relevant stakeholders, to assess the impact of the drought in the Free State, and to where necessary declare drought disaster areas and timeously request disaster relief aid from the national government.
The impact of a failed summer harvest will directly impact on the poor as food prices can be expected to increase, especially for maize. The effects of the drought may also result in job losses and insolvencies of small agri-trade businesses and farmers.
It has been a terrible time for farming communities in the province. Barely 6 months have passed since hundreds of thousands of hectares of grazing veld was destroyed by raging veld fires, dumping farmers and farming communities into financial stress.
Grazing veld damaged by the fires have struggled to recover due to the drought and places an additional burden on livestock commercial and communal farmers. There is a strong possibility that damaged grazing will not be able to recover in time before winter sets in and feed will have to be sourced from elsewhere.
The agri-sector in the Free State forms one of the cornerstones of our provincial economy. In recent years the sector has steadily shrunk. The industry has been plagued by not only policy uncertainty and a certain degree of animosity from government, but natural disasters continue to burden the agri-sector.
Extending disaster aid to all Free State farming communities will go a long way in building goodwill, preventing job losses and ensure that the agri-sector can weather the storm until the next harvest season.
Statement issued by Roy Jankielsohn, Leader of the Official Opposition in the Free State legislature, February 23 2015
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