Recent floods in the Eastern Cape have ravaged agricultural crops on some farms in the province. Critical infrastructure and services to water and electricity supply, as well as roads and bridges that collapsed have also been disrupted.
Flooding caused major damage to parts of the Wild Coast in the province last week. Affected farmers have reported significant crop losses.
Heavy rains pummel Port St Johns
Alindile Mbila, a vegetable farmer in Port St Johns, lost over R8 000 on crops that were damaged by the severe weather.
“Picking up and farming again will not be easy for me, but I will try my best because that farm is my last hope and I do not have any other way of getting income except that farm,” he told Food For Mzansi.
Mbila said accessing roads and facilities had become difficult due to the floods. In the OR Tambo District Municipality, the most affected area is Port St Johns, where houses were flooded on 23 March.
According to Mbila, no government authorities have been to his farm to assess the damage. “The rains, as good as they are at times, are taking us backwards.”
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Department resorts to plan B
A spokesperson for the Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform Masiza Mazizi, said an agricultural-based disaster report has been delayed.
According to Mazizi, this is because of the inaccessibility of farms and communities, due to roads and bridges that were damaged and waterlogging on farmlands.
“To fast-track the process of reporting, the OR Tambo district office formed a team made up of district, local municipality officials, and extension officers.
“After consultation with the provincial disaster risk reduction, the decision was taken that extension officers should consult all farmers through telephone and other means in order to collect disaster damages,” Mazizi said.
Collected data will be verified once the farms and farmlands are accessible, Mazizi added.
Providing support to farmers
To be considered for any compensation farmers must have a portfolio of evidence, he explained. “The department is committed to supporting all the affected farmers as we always do.”
The state of national disaster implemented by the government on 13 February 2023 to deal with wide-ranging floods is still in play and should provide assistance to local authorities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited various affected areas of Port St Johns, looking at the devastation. He said that government-appointed contractors would start building temporary shelters for flood victims. Traditional leaders have also availed land that will be used to temporarily shelter people.
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