‘We need feed’: NC farmers plead amid prolonged drought

For many farmers in the Namakwa district in the Northern Cape, farming has become an added layer of stress and difficulty caused by a severe drought that has hit the region over the years, leading to farmers closing shop or downscaling operations.

The intermittent rains that have recently fallen in the area have not had any significant impact, as the grass from the ground does not grow to even five centimetres long.

Randy van Staden, a sheep and cattle farmer in Pofadder who has 165 sheep and eight cattle, told Food For Mzansi that farming in the area has become a curse.

“I am currently operating without any access to water; the rivers are dry. I have to drive kilometres one way to fetch water at least four times a week for my livestock to get something to drink.

“When it comes to feed, it is very bad to keep my livestock alive and healthy. To sell them in the auction, I have to spend over R15 000 a month on feed, which includes transportation. That is not sustainable for the long term,” he said.

Devastating losses

In March and April, he lost 30 sheep to the drought because he did not have enough feed.

“We sell our animals at a value of R2 000 at the market, so losing R60 000 takes a whole year and a half to recover from it, because our main market is the auctions. The community does not buy so much from us.

“Even when you slaughter the animal after it has died, you could see from inside that it died of hunger, it becomes thin and unable to keep up, the losses we incur because of drought are massive and also painful for a farmer who relies on this for a living,” he said.

There has been below average rainfall since the beginning of 2024 in the region.

This graph shows the total monthly rainfall for Pofadder, from Dec 2019 to Feb 2025 (blue), compared against each month’s 20-year historical average rainfall for said month (red). The total rainfall for February 2025 is significantly lower than the 20-year historical average (12.3mm vs 16.1mm).

Van Staden said the first and only time he received assistance from the government with feed was in 2022.

“I think for farmers who are experiencing drought, like us, who are in dire need of feed, the supply from the government should be on a regular basis. Without water and feed, as a farmer, I might as well close and look for work.

“My market is in Upington, 200 kilometres from Pofadder, so for me to go there, I need to at least have twenty fit sheep to go and sell. Transport costs us a fortune also,” he said.

Luchan Groenewald, a sheep farmer in Pofadder, said the least that the government can do is to help them with lucern to plant it so they can feed their livestock.

“We are not working, this is the only work we have, our families rely on us. This drought has hit us since 2020.

“We are asking the government to help us with lucerne so that we can plant it and feed our own animals. No one wants to knock on doors that are not open all the time. It’s tiring.”
Sheep farmer Luchan Groenewald

Groenewald said he had to sell some of his livestock because it was heartbreaking seeing them suffering.

“In this area, we get rain once a year; if we say we are lucky, that is twice. It gets hot to 40 degrees Celsius. No animal without proper feeding and water will survive under those conditions,” he said.

Farmers need more livestock feed

Willem Meintjies, who is also a sheep farmer, said it is pointless for the government to give them land with no help afterwards.

“I am a pensioner who is disabled, but I cannot sit down and be a crybaby. I stood up and started a farming operation. However, it has become tougher by the day, and the drought has taken us 10 steps backwards.

“We do not see what we are doing financially. We rely on handouts for feed; it is a terrible situation we are facing in the Namakwa area,” he said.

Meanwhile, Agri Northern Cape said they have raised R6 254 327 to assist farmers across the province against extreme weather conditions, such as veld fires and drought.

*This graph shows the total seasonal rainfall for Pofadder, from summer 2019/20 to summer 2024/25 (blue), compared against each season’s 20-year historical average rainfall for that season (red). This means that the total rainfall for summer 2024/25 is lower than the 20-year historical average (12.8mm vs 47.2mm).

The Northern Cape department of agriculture, rural development and land reform spokesperson, Stephen Galane, said during the 2024/2025 financial year, the department distributed approximately 264.25 tons of fodder valued at R1 321 250 million to 298 farmers in drought-stricken areas within the Namakwa District.

This works out to just R4 433 per farmer for the whole year. For farmers like Van Staden who spends R15 000 a month on feed, this is not enough.

“The department has urgently prioritised key drought mitigation measures, which include the distribution of fodder, water carting where required, and the installation or repair of vital water infrastructure such as boreholes and water storage tanks.

“The department continues to maintain a database of affected farmers, which is used to guide the allocation of support equitably and according to assessed need,” he said.

Galane noted that the department is aware that the prolonged drought has placed immense financial and operational strain on many farmers in the Namakwa region.

“While it is acknowledged that some farmers may have been forced to scale down or suspend their operations due to the unsustainable conditions, precise figures regarding the number of closures are not available at this stage.

“The department notes that this chain reaction of effects has weakened the overall resilience of the agricultural sector in the Namakwa region, posing risks not only to food security but also to rural livelihoods and employment,” he said.