‘Trading partners notified of Goss’s Wilt outbreak in maize’
South Africa’s Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen confirmed an outbreak of Goss’s Wilt Disease in key maize-growing provinces, prompting international notifications to protect trade. Meanwhile, recent floods devastated crops along the Vaal River, especially in Bloemhof and Christiana, destroying thousands of hectares of lucerne and beans. Despite the severe impact on farmers, consumer supply disruptions are not anticipated.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen says international trading partners have been informed about the outbreak of Goss’s Wilt Disease in maize.
The outbreak of the bacterial disease has been reported in the Free State, North West, Gauteng and Eastern Cape.
It can cause stunting in crops like maize and result in lower yields.
Steenhuisen was answering a written parliamentary question on what measures the department has taken to prevent the spread of Goss’s Wilt.
He says government has notified the relevant international bodies. He says one of the organizations has since ensured that a pest alert is submitted to all trading partners to ensure safe trading especially to African countries.
Meaning, thousands of hectares of crops along parts of the Vaal River have been destroyed during recent floods along the river. Farmers planting lucerne and beans in the Bloemhof and Christiana areas in the North West were the most severely affected with some saying that they will not have the funds to replant their crops.
The majority of Barry van Vuuren’s lucern was submerged. He says this is the seventh flood since he purchased the farm 25 years ago.
“This was 175 hectares of lucerne. There was approximately 140 plus hectares directly covered with water. And we think there was 25 to 35 hectares that was not covered with water, but will possibly still be dying from too much water. It was not submerged, but it was still too much water. So, we think we will remain with between 25 and 45. We are not sure at this moment hectares of lucerne to carry on with farming,” says van Vuuren.
Agri Bloemhof’s Daan Lottering says the impact on farmers is immense.
“(The) impact on the farmers are quite severe especially the farmers next to the river. They lost about everything. There’s no crop that has been left over, next to the river that I know of. Everything is in the water and up ground. The maize is a problem. It’s getting hot and you can’t do nothing with it … and then the lucerne farmers, they got the biggest loss because within two days that lucerne is going to be dead. They have to replant them and that’s a very, very high cost to replant them,” says Lottering.
Although the abnormal rainfall and the subsequent damage to crops were quite severe, it is not expected that consumers will be greatly impacted much.
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Source : SABC News
