Question NW2818 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Reply:

1. Yes, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development has facilitated the allocation of drought relief funding through the National Disaster Management Centre and an amount of R138 489 000 was approved under provincial disaster grant allocation. These funds were made available following the declaration of the drought as a national state of disaster in February 2020.

Seven provinces benefitted from this allocation, including Northern Cape (received R35.689 million), Western Cape (received R25 090 million) and Eastern Cape (received R35 million). The implementation of the interventions is still in progress as the funds were transferred in July 2020.The Department further disseminates the National Agrometeorological Committee Advisories which have seasonal forecasts and suggested measures to mitigate and adapt to impacts of drought amongst other hazards. Some measures recommended in the advisories include keeping livestock in balance with the available grazing, selection of drought tolerant cultivars and provision of additional feed to livestock.

The table below depicts the detail of the provincial allocations (Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape):

WESTERN CAPE PROVINCE

District	Funding allocated	Purpose
Central Karoo	R11 000 000	Fodder
Cape Winelands	R420 000	Fodder
West Coast	R8 620 000	Fodder
Garden Route	R4 840 000	Fodder
Overberg	R210 000	Fodder
TOTAL BUDGET	R25 090 000

EASTERN CAPE PROVINCE

Municipality/ Region	Boreholes	Fodder Production (Lucerne)	TOTAL BUDGET
	Number	Budget	Area (ha)	Budget
Alfred Nzo	08	R4 032 000	-	-	R4 032 000
Amathole	08	R4 032 000	417	R5 000 000	R9 032 000
Chris Hani	08	R4 032 000	250	R3 000 000	R7 032 000
Joe Gqabi	08	R4 032 000	-	-	R4 032 000
OR Tambo	11	R6 048 000	-	-	R6 048 000
Sarah Baartman	06	R2 824 000	167	R2 000 000	R4 824 000
Total	49		834
TOTAL BUDGET		R25 000 000		R10 000 000	R35 000 000

NORTHERN CAPE PROVINCE

District	Funding allocated	Purpose
Namakwa	R5 500 000	Fodder supply
Pixley ka Seme	R4 500 000	Fodder supply
ZF Mgcau	R3 800 000	Fodder supply
Frances Baard	R3 000 000	Fodder supply
John TaoloGaetsewe	R2 500 000	Fodder supply
All districts	R2 000 000	Transportation of fodder
	R3 500 000	Fodder bank: extending irrigation, input costs on fodder production and maintenance
Namakwa, Pixley ka Seme, John TaoloGaetsewe	R10 889 000	Clearing of prosopis
TOTAL BUDGET	R35 689 000

2. Yes, the monthly advisories issued to the farmers contain adaptation and mitigation strategies and details of provision of fodder have been categorised by Districts in all three provinces as per the tables above.Northern Cape Province prioritised the eradication of Prosopis trees to reduce underground water loses.

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) is working with the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to develop additional adaptation and mitigation strategies in Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces.DALRRD held meetings with the National Disaster Management Centre to discuss the continuous drought conditions in the three provinces and proposed programmes to adapt and mitigate the impacts of drought. DALRRD further held meetings with the three provinces to discuss continuous drought conditions in these areas with the aim of coming up with an integrated programme to adapt and mitigate the impacts of drought in the country especially in those three provinces. DALRRD is in the process of engaging the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on the proposed interventions to expedite the implementation.

The Department also developed the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation sector Plan and the Climate Smart Agriculture Strategic Framework which spell out specific interventions and programs to be considered for implementation, sector response measures, long-term adaptation scenarios, drought adaptation and mitigation strategies as well as programmes. DALRRD is implementing these sector plans through programmes, appropriate strategies and approaches such as Climate Smart Agriculture in collaboration with the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the drought-stricken areas including the Karoo regions of the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces.