There are areas in some parts of these provinces that are in dire need of fodder for their livestock. Dr Jack Armour, operations manager at FSA, says relevant agricultural associations in these provinces are now asking for support from their fellow farmers who are in a better situation in terms of grazing conditions and harvests because of good rainfall. OFM News' Christal-Lize Muller spoke to him...

See PODCAST below

Armour says there are farmers in areas in the Northern Cape who have not had any rain in the past four years. In areas where it did rain, it was by no means enough and field conditions did not improve. It's a bleak picture and farmers are struggling to feed and keep their nucleus herds alive in anticipation of the first summer rains.

He says the organisation received letters from Agri Northern Cape and Western Cape about the dire situation as a result of drought conditions.  There is nothing left to eat for animals because of a lack of rain and non-existent natural veld for the purpose of grazing.  Those farmers are now totally reliant on feed after they had to cut their herds down to the absolute minimum. For the next four to six months, while waiting for summer rain, farmers in these areas need to keep their animals alive after their resources and donations have run out.  

Armour says the appeal is to grain farmers in the Free State after this province has had a blessed year with good rainfall, yields and livestock prices. 

Farmers who want to make donations must work through their local farmers' associations. Armour says work is done from farmers' association to farmers' association through provincial offices, but farmers can take a full load themselves and deal directly with the Agri Northern Cape or Western Cape Offices. FSA is also sending out letters to all its members. He says money that is donated goes towards paying for the transport cost for that feed.

That was Jack Armour operational manager at Free State Agriculture (FSA) only on the Agri Hour made possible by John Deere. 

OFM encourages listeners to get involved in the various drought relief projects, which aim to support agricultural communities. OFM has created a website where listeners can obtain information about the drought situation in the central interior and in other provinces and make donations. Links from organisations, such as Agri SA as well as Agri Northern Cape, are available on this OFM page. Go to ofm.co.za, click on the Agri Aid banner on the home page to gain access. For the latest news, follow the hashtag #LandbouHoop.

OFM News