Another veld fire season has brought significant challenges to farmers across the country, with provinces like the Eastern Cape, Free State, North West, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal bearing the brunt of the destruction. In a recent incident, a farmer and his father lost the battle to a massive fire that originated in a nearby village and spread to their farm, causing extensive damage.
Mandilakhe Ndamase from the Eastern Cape shared with Food For Mzansi how the fire, which started far away, left them devastated as they began to assess their losses.
Ndamase said the financial impact of the fire is staggering, with direct livestock losses estimated at over R550 000. He added that the fire had forced his family to withdraw from upcoming livestock sales, exacerbating their financial strain.
A trail of destruction
“On the 18th of July 2024, a fire started 15 kilometres away in a nearby village known as KwaMzongwana in the early hours. We are still unsure about what started the fire exactly. Due to strong winds, the fire was moving so rapidly that it managed to skip firebreaks that were created. It skipped the roads between farms and the village as well as the Umzimvubu River, thus entering our farm,” he said.
Ndamase said despite the concerted efforts of workers, neighbours, and fellow farmers, the blaze proved uncontrollable. The intense heat and dry conditions rendered their attempts futile, forcing them to evacuate all livestock to the relative safety of the Umzimvubu River.
He expressed that the support from fellow farmers, family, and friends have been overwhelming, with donations of bales helping to feed the surviving animals. However, the road to recovery for his family remains daunting.
“We have lost a great number of livestock, grazing [land] and facilities. From our provincial government, we are hoping for assistance with the replacement of the livestock, assistance with feed, and medication for the remaining stock which suffered a great amount of stress and injuries,” Ndamase noted.
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“Psychologically, the experience has been stressful, to say the least. It’s come with so much anxiety of the unknown, thoughts such as ‘will we ever recover?’ What if the animals we have don’t make it? Such questions keep popping up and one has been restless since. It is a very traumatic, overwhelming experience,” he shared.
Ndamase’s neighbour, Bethwell Dlamini, details the losses that occurred on their property.
“We have lost our fencing structure, the place is open. We have also lost [our] cows. They [were found] dead where they were,” he said.
Climate change a factor in veld fires
Eric Stoch, the chairperson of the North West Umbrella Fire Protection Association, confirmed that the recent fires are exacerbated by climate change.
“Climate change has exacerbated the situation, altering traditional weather patterns crucial for fire management. Unusual rainfall patterns, characterised by early rains followed by drought spells and late rains, have disrupted the typical fire season.
“This unpredictability has complicated fire prevention efforts, particularly the creation of firebreaks. The delayed onset of frost and cold weather has further hindered the implementation of traditional firebreak methods, leaving landscapes more vulnerable to fire spread,” he explained.
Grazing land burnt to ashes
According to Stoch, uncontrollable fires have resulted in the loss of handling facilities, all of the grazing land, bales, fencing and a significant number of animals in North West. “Specifically, we lost 25 cows in total; most of them being our stud animals. We lost all our sheep, a total of 132 sheep.
“During the course of that week, we lost six more cows due to stress, most of the cows have had miscarriages due to stress. The total extent of grazing land that was burnt, on our farm alone, was 595 hectares,” he said.
Stoch advised the following to mitigate these challenges:
- Enhanced public education on fire prevention and safety.
- Adaptation of fire management strategies to account for changing climate patterns.
- Improved early warning systems that consider factors beyond traditional FDI metrics.
- Strengthened enforcement of fire regulations and penalties for negligent fire-starting.
- Increased resources for rapid response and firefighting capabilities.
Food For Mzansi asked the Eastern Cape department of agriculture and land reform who farmers can contact in the case of losses or damage by the veld fires, however, they did not respond at the time of publication.
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