WATCH: Small scale farming under lockdown
The impact of the COVID-19 is far greater than any one of us could have expected, and is felt by every South African. Dealing with a situation the country has never been through in history means that there is a lot of uncertainty about the future and how life after lockdown will play out.
The economic effects of the lockdown’s restrictions of movement have had significant impact on remaining businesses and essential services. With the announcement of the lockdown extension, this has brought increased worry to business people and workers alike.
The agriculture sector is one such industry that has been deemed an essential service. While larger companies can plan around the lockdown with existing suppliers, some of the industry players who are uncertain are the smaller size farmers and those who cater to informal traders.
Last week we saw some informal traders resume trading, strictly with a permit. The limitations put on movement, however, still have an impact on the farmers whose daily traffic of buyers has dwindled.
Relief funds
There have been relief funds mentioned to alleviate the pressure from businesses and workers, though there seems to be misunderstanding by some of those affected as to who qualifies and how to apply. All of the documents have been uploaded onto the relevant department’s website pages, which can be viewed on mobile and desktops.
In their call for applications, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development will provide funding for the following categories or commodities: Poultry, Vegetables, Fruits, Livestock, and Winter Crops.
“The main objective of this support is to complete the current production cycle in an effort to ensure adequate food production and supplies. The targeted beneficiaries are smallholder and communal producers with a turnover between R20 000 and R1 million per annum”, the Department said in their call for application.
What happens to our society?
While measures have been put in place to ensure that the production and distribution of food is as uninterrupted as possible, the effect of the Covid-19 crisis on society, however, is beyond the scope of finances. Spatial issues, systemic issues and psychological effects of the changes will take a long time to recover from.
Experts have suggested that a return to normal, as if the lockdown was a pause, should not be expected. Instead, there should be a gradual reintroduction of services in the coming phases of the lockdown to transition us into a post-lockdown reality. This, however, still depends greatly on the infection, recovery and mortality statistics in the country over the next few weeks.
