Emerging poultry farmer Bayanda Maseko has appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to extend aid to the sector as its troubles pile up.
Farmers across the country are faced with a number of challenges including rolling blackouts, water outages, and rising input costs adding to growing fears of food insecurity.
Maseko told the publication that he hopes Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) will include relief measures to help entrepreneurs in the agricultural industry stay afloat.
He said load shedding remained one of the industry’s biggest challenges.
During the high-demand season in December and January, some farmers were left in the dark for up to 12 hours a day.
This affected the ability to pump water for chickens and halted automatic feeding.
At least 2,000 broiler chickens died on Maseko’s farm in Mpumalanga amounting to an estimated loss of R100,000 to his business.
Maseko admitted that he feared he might not be able to keep the farm running for long.
“It’s been very traumatic, and we have to try and recover while we are trying to adjust to the new world of load shedding in South Africa.”
Maseko’s plea to Ramaphosa comes after other farmers called for tax relief and for the agricultural sector to be declared an essential service.
“We are available to work the ground but we need you to come on board.”
Ramaphosa has the inevitable task of delivering the address amid tough economic times.
-EWN
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