The Free State department of agriculture and rural development has announced big plans to help farmers mitigate tough times. This follows a meeting MEC Thembeni Nxangisa had with farmers in the province, to address farmers’ concerns around load shedding.
In an exclusive interview with Food For Mzansi, on the back of a meeting with farmers on Tuesday, 21 February at the IPJ Hall in Glen, Nxangisa announced his department’s plans to make funds immediately available to struggling farmers through a blended finance module.
“We are putting aside money for alternative energy, and we are going to support farmers to install solar panels,” the MEC said.
The department said it will also launch its own version of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (Pesi). “Over and above the president’s programme, we are doing our own thing. We are putting aside money to support farmers, especially emerging farmers.”
Rollout of funds to farmers in need
Nxangisa said measures would be implemented with immediate effect, as soon budget has been allocated. Thereafter, the available funds will be rolled out to all the farmers in need.
“We have identified farmers who will be benefitting from these initiatives and other farmers will have to apply, because we don’t know all the farmers who have been affected by load shedding, and in which way, because each farmer is affected differently.”
Measures welcomed by farmers
African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (Afasa) provincial chairperson Nakana Masoka expressed his gratitude to the department and shared that the needs of the farmers were well considered.
“The department was very positive and considerate. They provided specific suggestions on how to mitigate this situation so that we can continue providing food to our communities and continue participating in the agricultural economy,” he said.
“We also proposed that the MEC himself pays those farms that were affected directly by load shedding a visit. The challenge we are facing is that once we cannot operate consistently, it disrupts our industry and some farmers will not recover at all.”
Diesel levies and load-shedding exemptions
Furthermore, the department has suggested the removal of diesel levies for farmers.
“Eskom agreed to this suggestion because they were part of the session and we suggested that they do mapping of all areas that are dedicated to farms. They should isolate them and not mix them with the general lines that affect other establishments,” he said.
Another suggestion tabled is that during planting and harvesting season, all farms be exempted from load shedding. “They must isolate those farmers because that affects food security, and we cannot afford to risk food security,” Nxangisa added.
The session was also attended by representatives of the Land Bank, who explained how the new blended finance scheme worked.
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