Agri Western Cape welcomes the announcement by the Western Cape Cabinet recently that R50 million is being made available to assist livestock producers in the drought stricken areas of the province.
Mr. Jannie Strydom, CEO of Agri Western Cape, says the Western Cape government has been nothing but supportive since the onset of the drought. “We are grateful for all their assistance and support over the past five years and appreciate that our provincial government understands and values the role of agriculture in the economy of the province,” he said.
Mr. Strydom says Agri Western Cape will render as much humanitarian help as possible in the drought-stricken areas, even though the Agri Western Cape drought relief fund is almost depleted. “Many producers in various sectors are facing cash flow constraints as farm revenues diminished but operating costs remain high. This is resulting in a humanitarian crisis in the affected areas and we are thankful for every contribution to our drought relief fund,” he said.
Agri Western Cape has been assisting producers since November 2015, when below average rainfall first impacted on the livestock sectors of the West Coast district and the Central Karoo. The Klein Karoo is battling with a fourth year of drought that has impacted the vegetable seed production and deciduous fruit. In some areas of the Klein Karoo, agricultural activities have come to a complete halt.
For more information: 
Jeanne Boshoff
Agri Western Cape
Tel: +27 (0) 71 170 3744
Email: jeanne@awk.co.za
www.growinggreatness.co.za