MORE than 1 000 farmers in drought-stricken areas of the province received fodder support to the value of R12.2 million last month.
According to the provincial agriculture department, 1 115 farmers in extremely critical drought-stricken areas including parts of the Central Karoo, Garden Route and West Coast Districts who were eligible for drought relief received fodder support.
Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said that based on the latest bi-annual veld assessment completed in March, the Department of Agriculture had categorised the veld as critical or extremely critical in parts of the province.
It would take at least three years of above-average rainfall for the veld to recover from the devastating drought, he said.
“The veld conditions in many parts of the Central Karoo have deteriorated. The veld in Little Karoo is currently in an arid condition, with critically dry areas. Conditions in the Matzikama Local Municipality have not changed much since the 2020 assessment. The area is still in extremely critical condition.
“The veld condition in the Mossel Bay and Hessequa Local Municipalities is currently in a dry condition, having received below-average rainfall.
"In the interim, we encourage farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices. Further support is provided by offering workshops to assist farmers in introducing disaster risk reduction methodologies and practices on their farms," Meyer said.
Meanwhile, Cape Town dam levels reported a slight increase to 68.6%. The total capacity of dams supplying the Cape Town metro increased by 0.70% in the past week, up from 67.9%. At the same time last year, dam levels were at 54.4%.