S
outh Africans from all walks of life have
stepped forward in recent months to assist
farmers impacted by the prolonged drought
affecting large parts of our country, with initiatives ranging from water collection to the supply of feed
to hard-hit areas. In a bid to boost the embattled agricultural sector, leading short-term insurer Santam has
donated R2 million to help alleviate the financial hardship faced by both commercial and emerging farmers.
term food security of our country. Farmers and communities dependent on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods are bearing the brunt of this crisis. For Santam,
lending support to both individual farmers and farming
groups is simply the right thing to do,” Diedericks said.
He added Santam would continue to assist the farming
community in managing the risks endangering the sustainability of agricultural resources. “As the oldest insurer in the sector, with over 85 years of extensive experiIn an announcement at Agri South Africa’s 2016 Comence in dealing with the highs and lows of agriculture,
modities Congress, Santam Head of Agriculture, Gerwe understand the role farmers play in ensuring the stahard Diedericks said the donation would be made to the bility of food security.
National Drought Disaster Relief Fund managed by Agri
SA. The contribution will benefit not only members of
“Santam will continue to work with industry partners,
South Africa’s four Agri industry bodies, but will include brokers and organisations within the agricultural sector
emerging farmers not belonging to any organisation.
to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Collectively we
Those that are most in need of assistance will be priori- need to do much more to assist our struggling farming
tised.
communities, and we urge our counterparts to show
their support and contribute to this critical cause,”
“The persistent drought continues to have a knock-on
Diedericks concluded.
effect on the local economy and threatens the long-