The Democratic Alliance has written to MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe to request urgent clarification on the steps the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture has taken or intends to take to ensure that affected farmers are included in any disaster relief and recovery funding process.
The recent classification of severe flooding and extreme weather as a national disaster must now translate into practical relief for Eastern Cape farmers who have suffered serious flood-related losses.
Farmers in affected areas are facing damage to farming operations, irrigation infrastructure, access roads, lands, water infrastructure, livestock, crops, and agricultural production. These losses threaten rural jobs, food production, local economies, and the ability of farming communities to recover from an already difficult period.
Information from farmers, residents, and agricultural stakeholders indicates that extensive damage has occurred in key agricultural areas, including the Gamtoos River Valley and parts of the Langkloof. These areas are examples of affected farming communities, and the Department’s response must extend to all agricultural areas that have experienced flood damage.
This is not the first time the Langkloof has required urgent agricultural disaster intervention this year. In response to earlier storm damage, MEC Kontsiwe confirmed that the Department had submitted a request for disaster classification to the Provincial Disaster Management Committee on 23 March 2026, that damage assessments had been conducted on 13 farms, and that limited departmental funding had been set aside to procure hail nets for two hectares.
This must now be augmented with the latest verified damage from the recent flooding and extreme weather and incorporated into a broader, updated, and clearly communicated provincial agricultural disaster response.
In the letter, I have asked the MEC to confirm whether her department has formally engaged the Provincial Disaster Management Centre following the national disaster classification, and whether a provincial agricultural disaster response process has been activated.
She must also confirm whether verified farm-level damage assessments have commenced across all affected agricultural areas, including commercial, emerging, smallholder, and subsistence farmers.
Affected farmers also need to know what immediate interim support, if any, is being made available while formal assessment, verification, and funding processes are underway. Producers who have suffered losses need to know whether their damage is being recorded, whether relief will be requested on their behalf, and what process they must follow to qualify for support.
The DA will continue to monitor the provincial response to ensure that farmers across the Eastern Cape are not left to recover on their own. The province needs a clear, lawful, and practical disaster relief process that protects rural livelihoods, supports food production, and gives affected farming communities a fair chance to rebuild.