Agriculture department is reprioritising funds due to drought, Ramaphosa says
DEPUTY President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament on Monday that the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reprioritised funds in its comprehensive agriculture support programme to intervene in the agriculture sector, which has been reeling from drought.In a written reply to DA MP Annette Steyn, Ramaphosa said the programme aimed to ensure that there would be no drastic increase in the number of citizens without access to food due to drought.Ramaphosa acknowledged that the drought was causing higher food prices in the country. He said the cost of food as a share of the average monthly income of the poorest 30% of the population increased from 48.3% in April 2015 to 56.2% in April 2016."Food inflation rose to 11% in April 2016. The department continues to monitor retail food prices and likely impact on the poorest people through the National Agricultural Marketing Council," said Ramaphosa.The deputy president said the South African Vulnerability Assessment Committee would ...
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