The Northern Cape Province is the largest of all the nine Provinces of South Africa in terms of land mass, but has the smallest population. Its average rainfall is lower than that of all the other provinces. There has been no rainfall as was expected in the months of September to December. The Province was declared a drought disaster area in 2015, but to date the declaration has not yet been gazetted. The areas affected are Sutherland, in the Namakwa District, the entire Frances Baard District, Tsantsabane and Kgatelopele in Z. F. Mgcau District, Gamagara in John Taolo Gaitsewe District and Douglas and Campbell i Pixley Ka Seme District.
The impact of the drought was felt mostly by the emerging farmers who could not stock up on supplies as a result of not having the resources, thus being forced to sell their cattle to make ends meet and to alleviate the suffering of the animals. On the one hand farmers focussing on crop production could not prepare the land for planting, could not plant and therefore could not supply the supermarkets and this meant financial losses, while on the other hand, those focussing on cattle, sheep and goats struggled immensely with grazing land as well as water, resulting in animal deaths. This amounted to huge losses for farmers. The total number of livestock affected by the drought is estimated at more than 11000. At least 32 livestock losses were reported during this difficult period.
The drought has drastically hampered the planting process of summer crops. Widespread rain is urgently needed for the crops that were planted as their yield potential will continue to deteriorate as the drought persists. Some farmers even went to the extent of saying South Africa is in a disaster in the maize belt. The farmers are not the only ones who are adversely affected by the drought. Consumers are hardest hit by the rising food prices. For instance, maize prices are 120% higher than a year ago, maize-meal prices are between 17% and 0% higher, yellow maize prices are up by 65%, eggs have gone up by 8%, chicken prices are up by 4%, beef is up by 5%, while dairy products are up by 2%. The fact that the province and the country is not producing enough to feed the population, means that we will soon be living more and more on imported goods, resulting in even much higher prices.
Farmers have been calling on the Department of Agriculture to step in and provide assistance in order to cushion their difficulties, but as usual, they took their own time. The assistance they brought to the farmers was too little and too late. That is, the situation could not be improved by their intervention, although it is reported that the contribution amounted to R23 million. The farmers do appreciate the assistance but expect more money to be channelled especially in the areas that are hardest hit by the drought.
Recent rainfall has done little to pull the Northern Cape Province out of the drought danger zone. The drought status quo has not changed. To make matters worse the province has been experiencing a heat wave, which puts enormous pressure on the population to use more water for drinking and household use, including gardens. The use of air conditioners and fans have also impacted on the amount of electricity being consumed by various communities and we know there is a shortage in power supply, hence the investigation into renewable energy sources.