Locusts move fast. That is why Agri SA moved with equal speed to secure private donations to take the fight against the destructive brown locust to the skies. To date, the organisation paid out just over R500 000 from its Disaster Relief Foundation to get a spray plane in the air while government authorities were working through red tape to mobilise helicopters.
Locusts have been doing large-scale damage in the Northern Cape and parts of the Eastern and Western Cape since last year and, amid reports of massive swarms still hatching, the problems are far from over.
Nicol Jansen, president of Agri Northern Cape, recently warned that the locusts needed to be eradicated as soon as possible, and added that resources on the ground were stretched to the limit. Despite these ground teams making dents in the insect population, farmers on the frontline have called for aerial support that can help identify hatch sites and ensure that hoppers are sprayed before they can fly.
In response, Agri SA put out an urgent call for donations about ten days ago, which saw a total of around R300 000 come in from Free State Agriculture and well-known South African firms Sanlam and Santam, among others. Agri SA added some of its own disaster reserves to the pay-outs.
According to Andrea Campher from Agri SA’s disaster management office, the R514 000 in payments were used to spray pesticides near the most affected areas of Carnarvon, Kenhardt, Marydale and Prieska in the Northern Cape, and Murraydale in the Western Cape.
“We are very grateful for the donations we received. We had R100 000 from Santam and R100 000 from Sanlam, R50 000 from Free State Agriculture and continuous donors who are donating small amounts. But each little bit helps towards this initiative.”
A helping hand to peers
“We could not stand and wait for the state and therefore the Free State Agriculture executive committee approved to contribute R50 000 from our disaster fund to avoid the immediate crisis,” said Free State Agriculture president Francois Wilken, who mentioned that a tender process was slowing government’s response to the urgent calls for aerial support.
“It is with great gratitude and appreciation to our neighbouring province for their hard work to destroy the locusts before they can have a chance to fly over to [us].”
Like Agri SA, Free State Agriculture also thanked its supporters for contributing to the disaster fund that made its donation possible.
In the meantime, The Northern Cape department of agriculture, environmental affairs, land reform and rural development also released a press statement yesterday (Thursday, 10 March 2022) to confirm that it had secured two helicopters to be used on the project.
“One helicopter is stationed in Upington, for the western farming towns, while the second one is around De Aar for the farming towns in the eastern parts,” the department said.
“We are working with our stakeholders such as farmers’ unions and individual farmers to combat the spread.”
So far, 33 farming towns have been affected by the locust outbreak, which is still escalating in especially the Pixley ka Seme district, according to the department. “Most of the areas are affected by fliers (adult locusts) and there are also new reports on new generations of hoppers.”
Authorities work alongside farmers
The spokesperson for the national department of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Reggie Ngcobo, welcomed the private donations and said that the department has been involved since early 2021 in assisting the Nothern Cape in the battle against locusts.
“We have been on the ground since early 2021 fighting locusts in the Northern Cape and we have employed farm owners to do the work. We welcome the contribution of farmer organisations and any other South Africans,” said Ngcobo.
Farmers in the Northern Cape and adjacent provinces should be warned, however. “Until the first frost occurs in mid-April, locusts will still be able to hatch with the current favourable weather conditions, so the crisis is still far from over,” said Nicol.
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