The recently released draft drought scheme report for 2016-17 by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries stated that agricultural production was severely affected by the drought. Almost a quarter of a million farmers were reported to be affected by the drought and a large number of livestock succumbed due to a lack of water and fodder. About 6.2-million people were affected by the drought, but with funds to the tune of R212m made available by the Treasury to the various provinces, the assistance farmers received helped mitigate drought-induced risks. However, of great concern to commercial agriculture is the fact that some provinces chose not to assist commercial as well as smallholder farmers. In Limpopo all government funding was allocated to 13,265 subsistence farmers. The Mpumalanga provincial department, too, channelled all funding to 15,277 subsistence farmers. In the Eastern Cape as well as KwaZulu-Natal not a single cent was allocated to commercial farmers. Thi...
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