GEORGE - Agri Western Cape is extremely concerned about the relentless drought and the dire situation of farmers in the Southern Cape.
"There is a 70% water restriction applicable on agriculture in the region and farmers therefore only receive 30% of their normal water allocation per year. If the 30% is used up, farmers simply have to do without water for the rest of the year," said Porchia Adams, communication manager of Agri Western Cape.
The allocation excludes household water and a special allocation of 10 m³ of water for use in dairies.
Adams said vegetable farmers have stopped planting crops altogether.

Strapped for cash
"Farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Stock farmers especially are strapped for cash because they have been buying fodder for their animals for months no.
"To date, the drought did not have a significant impact on the supply and avai-lability of milk from the Southern Cape because many farmers opted to feed their animals a complete and balanced diet in order to increase production, but this has caused a significant rise in input costs for the farmers."

If the costly feeding programme cannot be sustained, milk production in the region could be reduced. It is hoped that funds made available by the Western Cape Agriculture Department for transporting fodder to the region will provide some relief.
Agri Western Cape aided the Department with an application for further assistance from the National Disaster Relief Fund to assist farmers. "We are hopeful that the application will be successful," said Adams.
The Western Cape produces about 25% of the country’s milk, of which the Southern Cape and Swartland areas are the biggest suppliers.
Farmers in the Riversdal and Heidelberg areas are also affected by the drought. The Korentepoort Dam in Heidelberg has 35,5% water and the Duiwenhoks Dam 39,6%.


Dry dams such as this in the George area reflect the most severe drought in more than 130 years.