The Christmas week was not so merry for farmers in the Western Cape and Northern Cape after a week of raging veld fires.
Edwin Molusi, a farmer in the JTG Farmers Foundation (JTGFF) from Kuruman, Northern Cape explained that his cows, sheep, goats, and horses have been affected by the raging veld fires in the area, adding that the fires have a massive humanitarian and socio-economic impact.
“A total of 500 hectares of land have been affected by fire, whereby it left our livestock with nothing to gobble, not forgetting electrical powerlines poles that succumbed due to fire, leaving us with no electricity at the farm,” he said.
“As far as I am concerned, in terms of electricity I managed to communicate with Eskom about the massacre caused by veld fire which left us with no power at my farm. But they didn’t manage to sort out the matter immediately as I thought.”
Fires in Namakwa District, together with Kamiesberg Municipality, are reported to be spreading fast. In Kamieskroon, the wildfires are not under control because of the wind is making. Firefighters are working hard to stop the fires, however, it is tough because some areas are tricky to reach by vehicles or foot.
Lending a helping hand
Meanwhile, Multy Assegaai, JTGFF chairperson explained that his surrounding area was badly affected by veld fires. He said the farm next to Kemden village where he currently farms, farmers lost about 900 hectares.
Farmers in deep rural areas like Madibeng, Heunigvlei, Loopeng, Banchara, Bendel, Ditshoswaneng, and other surrounding villages have also been affected.
“After seeing that our district office is turning a blind eye as well as our province. We decided as the leadership to organise to buy bulk feeds for our livestock. Members of our organisation were able to negotiate an affordable lucerne from Janjies Boerdery in Taung.
“We ordered 842 bales of lucerne and each farmer ordered according to their need. We got those bales of lucerne much cheaper as compared to our local Agri shops. Our second order was headed by one of our leaders who ordered again from Janjies Boerdery. We received at least 500 40kg bags of high protein phase D cattle feed to boost all those cattle that were on score level one body condition. We catered even for farmers who are not members of our organisation,” said Assegaai.
Increasing veld fires in WC
Meanwhile, according to Drakenstein Farmers Watch (DFW) CEO Daan van Leeuwen Boomkamp, it has been a busy week for him and his team as they fought off veld fires around the Ederberg area in the Western Cape. He said things in Ederberg are getting worse because the fire is spreading quickly, and the strong winds are making it harder to control.
“These fires are a result of a combination of factors. Firstly we had a very wet winter in the area with relatively high temperatures and therefore we had a lot of plant material growing. We had hot and dry temperatures at the start of summer and high radiation, making the grass dry and as long as one meter high,” he said.
Secondly, he believes, people are setting things alight, leading to arson, but not in the sense that they do so deliberately. People braai or make a fire to cook something and the wind picks up that small light which travels and causes a big fire, he explained.
“People also come into the mountains to worship and in the process, they light different kinds of candles and cleanse themselves with the smoke the candles are left burn or they fall over, ultimately leading to a fire. They are devastating because it makes it difficult for us to reach the source,” explained Van Leeuwen Boomkamp.
Van Leeuwen Boomkamp said farming communities and farmers are affected terribly and that is why they concentrate on the rural farming communities, assisting farmers and people who live in and around the farms.
Only the beginning …
“We are in the Western Cape and we have high-density farming. If you would take a farmer in the karoo who is in 500 hectares and they burn, then 50-100 sheep are not able to eat. You also have economic damage and loss because of these farmers.
“Every [stretch of land] lost is a problem. The [fire] season is starting and it will last until the end of March beginning of April because that is when we are expecting our winter rains,” Vean Leeuwen Boomkamp said.
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