Covid-19: MEC wants relief application deadline for farmers to be extended
Only farmers with an annual turnover of between R20 000 and R1-m annually qualify.
Mpumalanga Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs MEC Vusi Shongwe is planning to request the National Minister Thoko Didiza to extend the deadline for farmers to apply for the Covid-19 relief fund.
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Shongwe who earlier in the day held a meeting with senior officials of the department was not entirely pleased with the low response of farmers since the application forms were made available for farmers to apply.
“The information at our disposal is that most farmers, especially small scale farmers, have delayed submitting their forms because they have been struggling with some requirements like getting certified copies of their IDs and their accounts from banks.
“We know for a fact that most of them are struggling under the lockdown because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
The deadline for farmers to submit their applications is Wednesday, April 22.
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A total of 3 047 forms were distributed to the farming community, but the department has only received 754 completed forms.
Shongwe highlighted the lack of records or good record-keeping by some farmers as one of the major factors causing the delay.
“Some farmers do not have supporting documents to prove annual turnover, and others are struggling to get the necessary documents due to lockdown,” he pointed out.
Shongwe encouraged even those without records for now to apply.
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“It is up to the minister to decide, but I know that as government we have no intention of leaving anybody outside,” he said.
Applications for access to the R1.2-billion Covid-19 disaster fund, established as an intervention in the agricultural sector to assist small-scale farmers, opened on Wednesday, April 8.
Of the R1.2-b, R400-million is set aside for farmers within the Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy Programme and the remainder will be distributed according to specific criteria.
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Funding will only be made available to South African citizens who have been actively involved in the farming of poultry, vegetables, fruits, livestock and winter field crops, and who are currently in production or have been for a minimum of 12 months.
Those looking to apply for funding must also be registered on their province’s farmer database.
Only farmers with an annual turnover of between R20 000 and R1-m annually qualify.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will from Wednesday, 8 April, accept applications from distressed small-scale farmers, who need financial relief from the impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19).#CoronavirusInSA #agriculture #farming #SouthAfrica https://t.co/X1YkuZgGWu
— Exchange Capital SA (@XchangeCapital) April 7, 2020
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