Johannesburg - South Africa’s food growers, Agri SA, have welcomed the government’s decision to place the country under a national state of disaster and have called for increased support as the rainy weather persists in most parts of the country.
Agri SA has welcomed the declaration of a state of disaster addressing the damage caused by floods in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Free State, and the North West.
The organisation said as farmers face untold damage to their produce, property, and livelihoods, the declaration must be followed by the deployment of resources to provide relief to farmers and rebuild critical infrastructure damaged by the floods.
The organisation said in a statement that the announcement, made by Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Zuma, comes after a week of heavy rain, with more rain expected this week.
“In addition to damaging private property, the floods have destroyed critical infrastructure. In parts of KwaZulu-Natal, where floods in 2022 had already caused significant damage, the result is catastrophic," the organisation said in a statement.
"We urge Minister Dlamini-Zuma to put measures in place to ensure the deployment of relief funding in a transparent and accountable manner. We trust that the national disaster management centre (NDMC) and the Auditor-General’s office will play their roles in this regard," the organisation said.
AgriSA said it will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates to members through their collaboration with the NDMC.
"We encourage farmers to complete the impact assessments provided by the respective provincial disaster management centres to account for the damages suffered due to inclement weather," the group said.
The Star