The torrential rain, flooding and washing away of roads in the Overberg has dealt a major blow to farmers in one of SA’s most important wheat and canola producing areas.
“The biggest worry for us now is that it is time [to] spray herbicide for weeds and spread fertiliser, and our fields are far too wet,” Napier Farmers Association chair Wynand Wessels said on Wednesday.
“We can’t get into the fields with our tractors and equipment for at least the next two weeks.”
Wessels said the constant rain over the past three days was disastrous for wheat seedlings now coming up because they needed sunlight to grow.
“They are struggling, they’re in stress. It’s almost the same as a terrible drought. The plants are standing in pools of water.”
He said livestock farmers, whose sheep were lambing now, were also badly affected and some farmers were having to use rubber ducks and boats to rescue their animals.
“It’s a headache when the cold and wet continue for so long. There will be lots of lambs that die. And we can’t get to where the sheep are in our bakkies to check on them.”
Wessels said the low-lying areas around Bredasdorp were badly flooded. “It’s difficult to get your animals to a safe area, some of them are likely to drown.”
Floods have made the roads out from Arniston/Waenhuiskraal and Struisbaai impassable and the Cape Agulhas Municipality said on Wednesday many gravel roads in the area had been washed away and would take a long time to repair.
It said 200mm of rain had been measured and urged motorists to use “extreme caution”.
Wessels said the destruction of roads and bridges, especially around Elim and Baardskeerdersbos, was disrupting the operations of fynbos flower farmers.
“Their trucks have to get the flowers to the airport in Cape Town for export and now they have to take detours.”
He said the rain had also washed away much of the fertile top soil crop farmers needed and caused extensive erosion and trenches.
“The deep dongas have to be filled, using heavy equipment such as excavators and dump trucks, which we can’t do at this time of year. The dongas also make access difficult to our fields.”
Wessels said he had measured 122mm of rain on his farm near Napier.
The sun came out over the Overberg on Wednesday but more rain is forecast for Thursday.
TimesLIVE
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