KAMHLUSHWA – A lack of water was among the common problems raised by farmers who attended a recent imbizo hosted by the national Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Daff).
One of the farmers stated that even if the department assisted them with all the farming equipment they might need, this was all fruitless without the provision of water.
Speaking at the event, the executive mayor of Nkomazi Local Municipality (NLM) Cllr Thulisile Khoza, expressed sympathy with the farmers. “We are a cooperative government which works with different departments. As a municipality we are also extremely affected by the drought, our rivers are drying up and they are our main source. All these shortages have resulted in us having to implement water-shedding in some communities to ensure that everyone has access to the resource. We know that it is a difficult situation, especially for farmers, but if we can all work together while waiting patiently for a solution we can succeed.”
Khoza said the matter has been brought to the attention of the relevant stakeholders.
“We urge our people to be patient with us as we wait for funds to assist with the water crisis.
“The municipality has tried to use trucks to deliver water to the various affected areas and we know that this may not be enough, but the municipality hopes it will help in the interim,” Khoza said.
As part of helping small-scale local farmers and residents, Daff donated 50 JoJo tanks to selected farmers during the imbizo.
