He told the 2015 Grain SA congress in Bothaville the drought was the worst in 22 years.
Widespread co-operation and collaboration across the agricultural value chain is called for to mitigate the effects of the drought. This calls for engagement with commercial banks, including Land Bank, financiers and agribusinesses, said Steytler.
Insurers’ unwillingness to insure crops was also a serious cause for concern, said Grain SA CEO Jannie de Villiers. He said insurers were increasingly reluctant to insure crops, particularly in the higher risk western parts of the summer grain production regions.
Jozeph du Plessis, Grain SA representative for Amalia, Migdol and Schweizer-Reneke, said grain cultivation was expected to decline dramatically in the North West without crop insurance. This could very well mean that SA would have to import maize in 2016.
