The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has acknowledged that small-scale and emerging farmers continue to face the impact of repeated flooding earlier this year. Speaking in the KZN Legislature, MEC Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa said many producers reported entire harvests being washed away during the January and March floods.
According to Madlopha-Mthethwa, most affected farmers had no insurance or financial support, making recovery almost impossible without government intervention. She said the damage extends beyond farms and threatens regional food security.
"These farmers form the backbone of food production in many of our rural communities. Yet, despite these losses, they have not received any compensation from the government. Their livelihoods remain under threat, and so too does the broader agriculture sector," she said.
Madlopha-Mthethwa called for a ring-fenced disaster relief fund and the introduction of climate resilience programs, alongside urgent financial aid and infrastructure investment.
DA agriculture spokesperson Sakhile Mngadi said farmers were being left destitute while waiting for relief. "Compensation by the provincial government has not reached these farmers. They continue to wait while debts mount, workers are retrenched, and communities slip deeper into poverty. This is not only a farming problem, it is also a provincial crisis."
The DA proposed a Provincial Agricultural Disaster Risk and Recovery Fund to compensate verified disaster losses within 30 days, and to invest in resilience measures such as drought-resistant seed, water infrastructure, livestock health, and cold-chain systems. According to Mngadi, the fund would be financed through allocations from state investment dividends and lease revenues on provincial agricultural assets.
Other parties, including the IFP, EFF, MKP, NFP, and ANC, supported a mix of short-term relief and long-term adaptation measures. Suggestions included subsidised insurance schemes, improved drainage, early warning systems, and climate-smart agriculture.
Meanwhile, affected farmers said they are still waiting for help. Nkosingiphile Nhlenyama, a small-scale sugar cane grower near the Jozini Dam, reported repeated flood damage to 2.5ha of his 6ha holding since 2022. "I'm still waiting for help. I'm a small-scale farmer, and I don't have the funds to clear the damaged cane and replant over and over again. Government was supposed to help us, but many of us are still waiting," he said.
Mahen Reddy, a sugar cane grower on the KZN North Coast, said flooding in Tongaat earlier this year compounded damage caused by a tornado in 2023. He has been rebuilding, but without the support promised. "I do not even know if we will ever see this help. We could not wait; we had to go on and rebuild. I cannot rely on the government. Thankfully, I had insurance, but I know so many small farmers around me who did not," he said.
Source: Farmer's Weekly