Agri department must cast net wider for farmer funding applications

6 October 2020

Note to Editors: Please find attached soundbites in English & Afrikaans from Reinette Liebenberg, MPL. 

While the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape welcomes the open call to emerging farmers to apply for grant funding for the 2021/2022 financial year, we are appealing to the MEC of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Mase Manopole, to extend the deadline and also to throw the net wider.

This comes after an article calling for upcoming farmers to apply for agricultural support, was published in the media and on social media late last week. From the date of the article to the looming deadline of 9 October 2020, this gives applicants just seven days to get to their district offices and fill out the paperwork to apply for a share of the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) and Illema/Letsema programme. Varying dates on social media platforms have also created confusion.

Given past issues relating to applications for disaster funding, that resulted in numerous challenges, including farmers being disqualified from funding opportunities because of forms not being filled in properly, the DA calls on Manopole to not rush the process. We urge her to ensure that all relevant farmers are made aware of the funding opportunity and of the processes that need to be followed, to ensure fairness and transparency. At the same time, all district officials must be fully briefed so as to ensure that no farmers are disadvantaged through a lack of information on the part of officials.

At a time when farmers continue to battle the effects of devastating drought conditions, on top of a major economic crisis, in addition to the challenges imposed by Covid-19, it is increasingly important that all farmers are given equal opportunities to attain financial and other backing, so as to be able to successfully build their farming enterprises. This is necessary to ensure that emerging farmers in the Northern Cape can become sustainable and make a significant contribution to the country’s food basket.

Issued by Reinette Liebenberg, DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, 6 October 2020