Agri Eastern Cape has expressed disappointment with the agriculture department’s draft Flood Disaster Relief Scheme for the period ending 31 December 2007, saying it’s “discriminatory against commercial agriculture”.
“We reject the content of the document,” said Cerneels Pietersen, chairperson of the organisation. He said the document doesn’t make provision for commercial farmers’ needs as the formulas to calculate losses favour communal farming. The costs of assistance are subsidised as follows: soil rehabilitation available at 90% for small-scale and communal farmers and 70% for commercial farmers; lost livestock assistance for a maximum of five livestock units per farmer at 90%; repairing agricultural infrastructure for farmers in communal areas at 100%.
Leon Coetzee, senior manager at the economics and marketing division of the provincial agriculture department, said the framework is being redrafted. The definitions of “soil rehabilitation” and “agricultural infrastructure” have to be clarified, as well as the question of who will qualify for assistance and the percentage of contribution.
The framework indicates that funds have been made available to the Eastern and Western Cape. But Pietersen said the document doesn’t reflect the R12,4 million the agriculture department agreed to provide for flood relief. He said even if they receive the R20,4 million, R12,4 million provided by the agriculture department and R8 million by the Department of Local Government, Housing and Disaster Management in the province, it wouldn’t cover the losses.
“A survey of flood damages in the province conducted last year calculated losses at R49 million.” Rain, snow and wind caused infrastructure damage and stock losses in Eastern and Western Cape. – Wilma den Hartigh
