/ 29 May 2008

Karoo drought ‘becoming critical’

Drought in the central Karoo has reached critical proportions, Agri Wes-Cape said on Thursday. ''Large numbers of game and livestock are dying each day from the drought, and lambs perish at birth because the ewes simply do not produce milk,'' the farmers' organisation said in a statement.

Drought in the central Karoo has reached critical proportions, Agri Wes-Cape said on Thursday.

”Large numbers of game and livestock are dying each day from the drought, and lambs perish at birth because the ewes simply do not produce milk,” the farmers’ organisation said in a statement.

It was estimated that farmers’ income in the region had dropped by up to a third.

Last week Heidelberg farmers donated 50 tonnes of emergency fodder to farmers in Merweville, said to be where the effects of the drought are felt most acutely.

Farmers at Uniondale were currently collecting enriched fodder and raw fodder to ship to Merweville.

Antonie Botes, chairperson of the Merweville Farmers Union, said only nine of the 90 springbok that had been in his game camp two years ago had survived.

The skeletons of sheep were strewn among the bushes, and more sheep died each day.

”We’re very grateful for the donations that are reaching us. This donation from the Heidelberg farmers will keep us going for at least another fortnight,” he said.

Agri Wes-Cape chief executive Carl Opperman said his organisation was very concerned about the situation because the area was the province’s central production region for export wool and meat.

”We are aware of farmers who have left their farms to look for jobs elsewhere, with the result that those farms are standing empty,” he said. – Sapa