Question NW3540 to the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
19 October 2015 - NW3540
Paulsen, Mr N M to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(1) What assistance is his department offering emerging farmers who have been hit hard by drought particularly in the North West Province
Reply:
( 1) Drought assessments were undertaken with farmers, Provincial Departments of agriculture (inclusive of North West) and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) (with support of Organized Agriculture) to establish the extent and number of emerging farmers affected by drought. Provincial drought reports from the Departments of Agriculture were submitted to relevant Disaster Management Centres (Local, Provincial/ National). The provincial departments of agriculture requested assistance from their respective Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMCs) regarding their classification and declaration of state of disaster by Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (DCOGTA) through Disaster Management Act (57 of 2002).
In respect of drought incident, five provinces KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Mpumalanga, Free State, Limpopo and North West conducted assessments. Declaration process is completed in Free State, Limpopo and North West. National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) is currently assessing North West province for classification of the drought disaster. Free State and Limpopo submitted classification requests. KZN and Mpumalanga provinces submitted their declaration requests to their respective PDMCs. NDMC will submit the provincial requests to National Treasury for funding.
While awaiting the process to unfold, DAFF has approached all the affected provinces to mobilise resources within their respective provinces. KwaZulu-Natal developed and is currently implementing a provincial drought scheme with a provincial budget of R6 mill ion on emerging farmers, while Limpopo has committed to spent R3 million.
In addition, DAFF continues to monitor conditions in the provinces and issue updated early warning information/ advisory information to the sector which includes strategies to implement during dry conditions. Also, coping strategies of various natural hazards are developed by the department. To date coping strategies for drought have been developed and published into all official languages to be understood by all. These strategies are issued to farmers and officials. Farmers are further encouraged to adapt to the changing conditions i.e. consider suitable farming activities and implement good farming practices as conditions are also aggravated by poor practices.
Furthermore, roving seminars on weather and climate are continually being conducted in the provinces. The main objective of these seminars is to make farmers more self-reliant by helping them become better informed about effective weather and climate risk management for the sustainable use of natural resources for agricultural production.
Answer tabled in Parliament on:
DAFF'S RESPONSE:
CLASSIFICATION: CONFIDENTIAL
SUBJECT: QUESTION NO. 3540 FOR ORAL REPLY TO MR N PAULSEN (EFF) ASKED TO THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES