The debilitating drought in the Eastern Cape is impacting badly on poor rural villagers and seasonal farm workers.
Though relief is being sent in from other provinces more and more livestock are dying due to the lack of grazing.
Farmers are facing a massive economic crisis. Affected areas have had the lowest rainfall in 107 years.
Farmers say they are battling to survive.
A farmer in the area says: “Sometimes your workers come to you and say can’t you pay us more and we can’t pay them more cause there is no money.”
“At this moment we don’t have water on our farm but today I’m so grateful for the help we are receiving. I just want to say thank you for the mealies, with this ongoing drought even the animals will be happy. If I never had such good reliable workers I really would be lost. I’m an old granny now and the workers have assisted me so much I owe them everything.”
