The Western Cape government has come to the rescue of farmers in the ‘extremely critical’ Central Karoo, authorising the release of R50 million in emergency drought relief to agricultural workers in the Central Karoo District, Matzikamma, and Klein Karoo areas.
More than 600 agricultural workers are expected to benefit from this funding, and according to the Provincial Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, David Maynier, the agricultural sector in the Western Cape is of high importance, accounting for more than 30%of exports from the region.
“The agricultural and agro-processing sectors are vital to the Western Cape economy, contributing 36.1% of exports from the province in 2018,” said Maynier.
“It was therefore of vital importance that the decision to allocate additional funding to support the drought-stricken farmers was urgently taken to ensure the agricultural sector continues to support economic growth and job creation in the Western Cape.”
Maynier added that the drought would affect the region for years to come, especially in rural areas, and according to Western Cape Agriculture Minister, Dr Ivan Meyer, the government has approached national entities for more support.
“We have also approached the national Department of Agriculture for an additional R147 million for further drought support,” said Meyer.
