…as animals are starving to death
By FEMI AKINOLA
Farmers in the Limpopo province of South Africa have been advised to sell off livestock they can no longer feed as deem fit as the pronvice grapples with severe drought.
Reports from Limpopo pronvince revealed that the area have been hit by a drought that has killed an unspecified number of livestock.
The report underline the fact that majority of livestock farmers in the pronvince have no resources to feed their livestock while many of their livestock were left to starve to death.
Agri Limpopo Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Deidre Carter, described the situation as dire, saying most part of the pronvince were dry and farmers were praying for rains.
Carter said while most commercial farmers could afford fodder for their livestock, most of the emerging farmers were struggling, adding that the only way to mitigate the effects of the severe drought was for farmers to auction their livestock.
She said that not only the emerging farmers were struggling to keep their livestock but commercial farmers s well. ”Everyone struggles, but commercial farmers would have put something aside to getthrough this period while the emerging farmers don’t have the luxuryof putting things aside, ” she said.
Carter also said that farmers should either sell their livestock while they are still in good condition or you have to buy fodder because the animals need to be fed.
She explained that the pronvince is yet to experience rain since the beginning of 2024. ” We didn’t have any of the cyclones that you get coming from the Mozambique Channel in February or in March. Most of the rain usually comes in March.
”This year, we haven’t had any of this, most of the place have had may be 5mm of rain. 10 mm maximum in January. We haven’t had anything, it’s terrible,” she noted.
Carter added that it was dry throughout Limpopo pronvince which she said responsible for the risk of increasing veld fires. ” Areas like Lephalale, Giyani and Tzaneen were extremely dry and desperate for rain,” she emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chairperson of the Black Agricultural Commodities Federation (BACF), Mike Gcabo, confirmed that drought situation in Limpopo pronvince is bad, particulrly for emerging farmers.
He said they were collecting data from farmers to quntify the extent and nature of losses noting that they have received a report from the Lephahale and Giyani regions.
” They seem to be hit hard. Goats and other such animals will eat from trees while other animals nd sheep rely on grass, but obviously with this drought, that is not happening,” Gcabo said.
Gcabo suggested that as the severe drought persists, individual farmers might have to consider reducing their livestock by selling them insted of losing animals to death or starvation. ”By doing so they might be able to salvage some money,” he noted.