Citrusdal farmers seek more support from government

Citrus farmers have made it clear that they will not survive another flood and have asked government to reinstate drainage and remove debris and sediment from the Olifants River

- Glenneis Kriel.

Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen recently visited citrus farmers in Citrusdal in the Western Cape to identify ways to overcome challenges facing the region.

As previously reported in the 13 September issue of Farmer's Weekly, the region has been subjected to three floods in the past two years, resulting in an estimated R1 billion in farm and fruit export losses. The floods also severely damaged public roads, leaving the region isolated as parts of the R303, the only route to and from Citrusdal, had washed away.

Mouton Citrus allowed the public to use a private bridge on the farm, but Gerrit van der Merwe, who farms in the region and is also chairperson of the Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa, pointed out during the visit that this came with liability for Mouton Citrus and had a negative impact on the town's main and other roads, which were not designed to carry so much traffic.

The farmers made it clear that they would not be able to survive another flood and asked Steenhuisen if he could help to find funding to reinstate drainage and remove debris and sediment from the Olifants River.