KAROO NEWS - Agri EC has expressed grave concern about the issuing of drought relief to farmers in the province.

The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) has made R74 million available to assist farmers, but according to Agri EC, this is too little, too late, and often not being given to the people who need it most.

In a statement, Agri EC President Doug Stern explained that the severity of the agricultural drought conditions for farmers is not the same in all areas of the province. Areas of the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, amongst others, have been in prolonged drought conditions for up to five years, while some of the eastern districts have had normal (or above normal) rainfall.

According to Stern, this was highlighted in the DRDAR drought report in August 2019, with only five local municipalities experiencing conditions where 50% or more of the municipal area was classified as severely dry.

Stern contends that when the province was declared a drought area, the DRDAR misinterpreted the intention and purpose of the act. 

"A provincial declaration does not mean that all farmers, local municipalities or districts within the province automatically qualify for assistance," said Stern, who explained that the DRDAR nonetheless allocated fodder assistance to beneficiaries across the entire province.

He claims that drought assessment forms have not been adequately verified, and blatant irregularities with regards to accepted stocking rates and classifications of beneficiaries have been blindly accepted by departmental officials. 

There is also evidence of irregular distribution allocations, in contravention of the department's own policy regarding assistance ratios between commercial and smallholder farmers, according to Retief Odendaal (MPL), Shadow MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform.

It is also alleged that some lucerne bales delivered in Graaff-Reinet last week, which were supposed to weigh 20 - 25kg, weighed between nine and 16kg.

"While any desperate farmer on his or her knees will gratefully accept any assistance given by government, the reality is that this assistance is far too little, far too late," added Stern. "The whole process from the provincial declaration through to the distribution has been chaotic."

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