Gift of the Givers to deliver fodder to Graaff-Reinet next week

Gift of the Givers will deliver eight truck loads of fodder to Graaff-Reinet on Tuesday.

“The request for fodder amongst emerging and commercial farmers is overwhelming, desperation in their eyes, a deep compassion to feed hungry and dying animals,” the organisation’s Imtiaz Sooliman said in a statement.

“The fodder delivery will be led by Hester Obermeyer and Sybil Visagie, our two outstanding co-ordinators that have relentlessly sourced and delivered fodder to countless communities in Northern, Eastern, Western Cape and now KZN.”

Sooliman said the humanitarian organisation’s hydrologist, geologist, palaeontologist, Dr Gideon Groenewald, would also be on site for the drilling of eight boreholes in the town.

“The first five boreholes have yielded 102,000L per day, collectively,” he said.

Gift of the Givers will also be delivering bottled water and nutritional supplies for children. 

Sooliman said: “Prayer and a unified approach with government, the private sector, farming communities and the public at large is the only realistic way to deal with the unprecedented challenges of a drought that has wreaked untold devastation on man, animal, environment and the economy.”

Meanwhile the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, reviewing its midterm budget, said last week it would set aside R3.2m for drought relief in the region in November.

This in addition to about R2m the department has already spent in the Dr Beyers Naudé Local Municipality region.

The department said in a statement the R3.2m would be allocated to the municipal region including towns such as Graaff-Reinet, Willowmore, Aberdeen, Jansenville and Steytlerville.

In March, the department set aside R2m to supply 113 water tanks, 235 water troughs, 256 tons of lucerne and 173 tons of grass/hay to emerging farmers.

The department also allocated R800,000 to buy 4,100 50kg bags of whole maize YM1 for commercial farmers.