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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has made an urgent appeal to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to scale up its locust combatting efforts to better mitigate the impact of the ongoing invasion of veld and farmland by bands of wingless nymphs that have been reported over a wide area in the vicinity of Vosburg, Van Wyksvlei, Prieska, Marydale and Hopetown.

This comes as district locust officers and workers struggle to contain the growing outbreak due to a number of challenges related to the programme.

The shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), including protective eyewear, proper overalls and low quality ponchos, poses a threat to the effective control of the locusts and the health of officers, as does the poor quality of pump seals.

District Locust Officers and their workers also struggle to obtain payments on a regular basis and must wait for up to three months for payment, having last received payment in November, despite work continuing.

In addition, the reimbursement rate fails to take into account the model, year or value of the vehicles being used. This, coupled with the cap of 150 km travelled per day, is hampering the control groups from combatting the infestation over the vast distances in the province.

It has also come to light that private individuals are being unofficially allocated pumps and poison, outside of the official structures.

DAFF has confirmed that November 2021 claims have been paid out, with a few exceptions, and they have given their commitment that the quality of the ponchos will be looked at.

Although farmers appreciate the assistance they receive, we are concerned about the ongoing challenges, given that these are not isolated or first-time complaints. The DA has further escalated this matter to our national counterparts, while we remain in discussion with DAFF.

Urgent solutions must be implemented before more devastating outbreaks follow due to further rainfall.

Issued by DA Northern Cape Provincial Spokesperson on Agriculture, Land Reform, Rural Development and Nature Conservation, Reinette Liebenberg, MPL