Disaster as floods devastate Mpumalanga & Limpopo farmers

Although the government has declared the floods in Mpumalanga and Limpopo a national disaster, farmers and nearby communities continue to grapple with the destruction, working tirelessly to rebuild their homes, fields, and livelihoods.

The impact of climate change is real for farmers and communities who have lost houses and infrastructure, and the government has estimated the damages caused by floods to be billions of Rands.

A crop farmer from Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga, Smangele Makoto, said the rains have damaged her crops just at the height of delivering to her markets, and the demand has surged. She said the damage to her operations will set her back.

“The rain has affected me a lot. I have lost around 3 500 cabbages because of the high impact of the rain, and I also lost 4 500 beetroot, and 2 900 spinach. So, for a small-scale farmer like me, this has a dire impact on the operations,” she said.

‘Rain is not done yet’

“Now we need to replant again because there is nothing we can do about the crops that have been damaged, and this also has severe financial implications. It seems the rain is not done yet in this area.”

Makoto said she was not sure if mop-up operations in the area had started as the rains continued to pour, and she spent the entire weekend indoors.

Limpopo macadamia nut farmer Lutendo Maumela said the rain in the Venda area has been pouring for a couple of weeks. She recalls the rain started as early as November.

“A lot of things got damaged, especially roads. Mind you, it’s that time of ploughing maize, and most of the bridges have collapsed. Other roads, never mind gravel or tar, are damaged beyond recognition,” she said.

Maumela said her biggest concern now is soil erosion, as the rains have been consistent for quite some time, which would make it difficult for their farming operations.

Managing a national disaster

In a statement, the department of cooperative governance said the severe weather, including heavy rainfall, strong winds, lightning and flooding, affected Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and North West. It has caused significant damage to infrastructure and property, environmental degradation, displacement of communities, disruption to schooling and agricultural activities.

“Following the classification, and in terms of Section 26 read with Section 23 of the Act, the national executive assumes primary responsibility for coordinating and managing the national disaster.

“Accordingly, all organs of state across the three spheres of government are required to strengthen support to disaster management structures, implement contingency measures, submit progress reports to the NDMC, and ensure a coordinated, multi-sectoral approach to prevention, mitigation, relief and rehabilitation,” the department stated.