SA's Disaster Relief System: Making A Bad Situation Worse

The release of disaster relief funds is a contentious issue in South Africa, writes Dr Christo Coetzee, researcher and lecturer at the North-West University’s African Centre for Disaster Management. According to him, the country needs a proactive approach to disaster relief to ensure a sustainable, profitable agricultural industry, and to safeguard food security.

- Dr Christo Coetzee

Current estimates of the socioeconomic benefits of agriculture indicate that just over one billion people worldwide are employed in the sector. Agriculture remains a significant contributor to the GDP of individual countries, especially those in developing regions. In Africa, for example, agriculture’s contribution accounts for 15% to 30% of all GDP income.

In South Africa, primary agriculture’s contribution to the overall GDP is considerably smaller – about 1,9% (2013). Expressed in monetary terms, however, this is a very large figure: R62,8 billion. In addition, agriculture is a crucial engine for growth for the rest of the economy. It creates a vast number of job opportunities, delivers basic products for the secondary production sectors, and earns foreign exchange for the country.

Finally, of course, the sector serves as the primary contributor to the food security of South Africa and the wider SADC region. 

In recent years, however, agriculture has come under increasing pressure from climate change, population increase and disasters such as droughts, floods and veld fires. Moreover, as I shall show, the way in which government has responded to natural disasters has made the situation worse.

A HIGHLY VULNERABLE SECTOR 

No part of society is immune to the impact of natural disasters. However, agriculture’s reliance on the weather, climate and available water makes it more vulnerable than most sectors. In the recent past, disasters in the sector have caused a total failure in agricultural systems, resulting in production losses, job losses and weakening economies due to increased input costs and higher food prices.