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‘R45-million grant not enough to relief drought’

Grant not enough for livestock farmers.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Emerging livestock farmers in Limpopo are complaining of lack of relief grants from government to mitigate against severe drought conditions.

Cattle are dying in large numbers as grazing land has become dry.  Small-scale crop farmers have also not started planting as summer rains have not yet arrived.

Judah Maponya from Makgodu-Borekwa village outside Polokwane says he has lost more than 20 cattle since the beginning of the drought last year.

“They are finished, they died and I’m left with about 3 out of 38-cattle. There are no more cows, they just die. I have nothing left out of so many cows because of drought. There is nothing, even the grazing grass is not available. It’s not raining, the government is not helping us. I even bought cattle feed 3-times but now I can’t afford to buy because I no longer have money.”

Agriculture MEC Basikopo Makamu says they have just received a grant from the National Treasury for drought relief in Limpopo, but it’s not enough.

“The national office gave us R45-million for drought relief but this money is not only meant for livestock and support but also for crop production, digging boreholes and a numbers of activities. As for the livestock, we are providing fodder or cattle feed everywhere in the province and we think isn’t enough.”

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