Lightning recently killed 21 cattle worth R280 000 on a North West farm. Two weeks later, the deep wound remains with a promise that the department of agriculture in the province could come to their rescue.
Cattle farmer Aobakwe Selebogo and his uncle Vincent Lobaleng suffered a major blow when a fork of lightning struck their herd at the Entry Farm near Morokweng.
“Eish, even now I can’t believe that I lost 21 cattle so easily, just like that, in one second,” said Selebogo. “I just accepted the situation the way it is. It seems like I’m burning the money.”
In a previous article, Selebogo said attempts to get assistance from the agricultural offices in both the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District and Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality had not yielded any results.
Joint effort to bury cows
Emelda Sehtlko, spokesperson for the provincial department of agriculture, told Food For Mzansi a team went to the scene on Friday 17 March. However, the state department veterinarian could not complete the post-mortem because the bodies of the cows were decomposed.
“The department is trying in conjunction with the municipalities to assist the farmer to bury them,” Sehtlko said.
However, last Wednesday, local community members helped the farmers to burn and bury the bodies of the dead cows.
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‘It’s as if nothing happened’
“I didn’t get any help, it’s been normal as if nothing happened,” Selebogo said. “So my uncle and I have accepted the situation like it is.”
Selebogo and his uncle are scheduled to meet with the local department of agriculture on Monday, 3 April to discuss a way forward.
“We have an appointment for next week Monday to go and sit down to write a report and send it to the relevant people at the highest level. Maybe we will get help.”
He hopes the department will assist him with funds to recover at least 50% of what he and his uncle lost.
Selebogo said a big lesson remained for him: “We as farmers have to insure our livestock and see it as a business.”
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