March 1, 2007

South African grain farmers face crop loss

Grain South Africa has warned that farmers in some grain producing areas face total crop failure because of the heat wave and a lack of rain.

Neels Ferreira, Grain SA's chairperson, says grain producers in the summer crop areas planted relatively late this season, expecting good rains early this year. He says that over the past few weeks, the crops in many areas have literally been scorched to death. Even if good rains should fall soon, it's too late to benefit many grain farmers.

Ferreira says the maize yield is expected to be almost 30 percent lower than the previous season's average yield of just over four tonnes per hectare. Other crops such as sorghum, sunflower and soya beans are also likely to show a significant decrease in yields.