Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism
In the light of the severe weather front, gale-force winds and catastrophic flooding that struck parts of the Western Cape between 5 and 12 May 2026:
- (a) What is his Department’s preliminary assessment of the total number of hectare of agricultural land damaged as a result of the weather and (b) what are the current
departmental estimates regarding the total financial cost of the damage inflicted on agricultural infrastructure, including but not limited to (i) irrigation systems and pumping equipment, (ii) farm fencing, (iii) private access roads and bridges and (iv) riverbanks, riparian zones and sediment deposits in orchards and vineyards;
- what is the (a) projected financial value of crop losses for the 2026 harvest season and (b) anticipated impact of these losses on the province’s total agricultural export production volumes;
- (a) what is the estimated number of agricultural jobs that have been disrupted as a result of the adverse weather and (b) what immediate mechanisms is his Department deploying to assist the affected producers?
(a) Preliminary assessments indicates crop production losses in excess of 1 400 hectares has been reported. It must be noted that this figure reflects crop losses only and does not represent the total extent of affected agricultural land areas damaged.
(b) Agricultural infrastructure damage (including (i)irrigation systems, (ii) fencing, roads, (iii) bridges, (iv) riparian zones) is estimated to exceed R3,9bn
2.
Preliminary Estimates of Losses | ||
# | Category | Estimate |
a | Crop and Livestock Losses | R637 832 298 |
b | Losses (Export production volumes) Losses (Export production volumes) In terms of export volumes, we will require granular data which is currently not available. The department is in the process to assimilate this data and conduct further analysis. Based on primary data which is still to be verified.
| R655 644 006 |
- (a) Number of Jobs disrupted: 1 568
(b) It’s too early to quantify the number of jobs that had been disrupted – the Department is curerntly engaging with stakeholders to ascertain the extent. However, given the harvest losses in some areas its clear the sector had been disrupted. We have also activated our Rural and Sector Support (RASS) structure to undertake an initial assessment to determine the full extent of damages and ensure that all requisite information to support assessments and funding applications are submitted.
All requests for humanitarian assistance from producers have been formally submitted to the relevant departments, including the Department of Social Development, to expedite the provision of relief to affected communities. In addition, commodity formations have initiated programmes to provide humanitarian support to affected agri workers.
