Farmers in South Africa who have been impacted by water shortages are being helped with drought relief measures. According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries just over 42 000 farmers have been assisted. 246,631 small, medium and large scale farmers have been affected by the drought.
To date, of the total number of farmers that have been assisted, 12,945 are from the North West, 10,670 from Mpumalanga, while 6,689 are from the Eastern Cape.
Approximately 89 boreholes have been drilled in some of the provinces, while 29 of those are still dry.
The government recently announced a R1 billion package that has been set aside to assist with drought relief effort.
Collectively, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries sector contributes over R70 billion to the South African economy.
Maphaka Tau, the Deputy Director General of Forestry and Natural Resources Management, said the department was issuing monthly advisories to the farming communities and advocacy of early warning information in addressing risk reduction within the sector is very important.
Source - freshplaza.com
