The national government is mapping out a plan to stem the effects of drought on agriculture and on communal farmers in Limpopo.
The move came after the Mail & Guardian last week reported the plight of the drought-striken province. The provincial government estimates that more than 170 000 head of cattle have died since December.
The national Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs this week said it was increasing supplies of forage to feed cattle and was working to
improve boreholes in the affected area.
The department sent a team of experts to the province on Monday to assess the situation and to recommend how to deal with the crisis.
According to the provincial government, the three-member team was horrified by what it found. The team visited the hardest-hit areas in the central region of Limpopo. One of the areas it visited was Blouberg, near Polokwane, where the effects of the drought are starkly visible.
Here the drought has dealt a double blow to communal cattle farmers — not only has it killed thousands of head of cattle, but the glut of animals being slaughtered has reduced the value of the cattle to as little as R50 a head. The normal price is R2 000 a head.
Zola Pinda, spokesperson for the national department of agriculture, said the team of experts sent to Limpopo had compiled a report that had been sent to President Thabo Mbeki.
Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi has asked Mbeki to declare the drought-stricken parts of the province disaster areas. Ramatlhodi’s government has asked Mkeki for national aid of more than R46-million.
Presidential spokesperson Bkeki Khumalo said Mbeki had not yet received the request, but said the president would deal with the matter urgently once it reached him.
Aaron Motsoaledi, Limpopo’s MEC for Agriculture, said that his department had started noticing the effects of the drought last month from
reports complied by field officers.
He said his government had moved swiftly to create an emergency fund to help struggling farmers. About R6-million was set aside for the fund, which would be used to subsidise forage for communal farmers.
Motsoaledi said the money allocated by the provincial government and the aid expected from the national government would cater for only 30% of the cost of forage and would sustain supplies for just three months.