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Desperate small-scale farmers in Upington face severe water shortages and livestock theft

About 80 small-scale farmers live on commonage land in Upington. The area is hot with very little rain.

11 Dec 2024

Overgrazing and especially a lack of water makes it difficult for the emerging farmers to feed their livestock. Yet they pay a fee to the municipality for each animal for use of the municipal commonage.

Small-scale livestock farmers on common land in Upington are desperate for water. The farmers’ kraals and grazing areas are on municipal commonage in this hot and arid town south of the Kalahari desert.

The Hondejag commonage lies between the townships of Rosedale and Paballelo. It is owned by the Dawid Kruiper Municipality, and according to draft municipal policy, which dates from 2022, it is to be used for the “empowerment of emerging farmers within the municipal area” and the “alleviation of poverty by making land available to poor residents”. This policy has yet to be applied.

Little grows on the sandy plains. And most of the 80 or so farmers on the commonage do not have access to water at their kraals for sheep, goats and cattle. There are communal water tanks supplied by the municipality, but the farmers say there is little water in the tanks.

Andre van Wyk, who farms on the Rosedale side of the commonage, said that the pressure in the water tanks was very low and that water only dribbled out, if at all. It was the worst on hot days, he said.

“We are dependent on the vegetation,” said Van Wyk.

Andre van Wyk fills his tank with water that he had to fetch from home. He said that water pressure is very low. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)

Farmers have resorted to fetching water from their homes and carting it daily with their trucks to their thirsty livestock.

Rosedale farmers are also battling frequent livestock theft. There is no fencing.

Carl Stevens says he lost about 64 of his livestock in January.

“They were either stolen or just lost,” said Stevens. “My heart is sore.”

Farmer Frankie Koopman wondered how the municipality expected them to farm enough to export and earn a living.

“It is any person’s desire to make your farming successful, so it can provide for you. No one wants to farm just for the sake of it,” he said.

Carl Stevens said that over 60 of his livestock were either stolen or lost in January. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)

On the Paballelo side, farmers’ kraals are lined up next to one another and they are cramped. When the farmers were moved here they were told it was only temporary. That was in 2013.

“Look at how many people are here. There is no grazing here any more. It is very cramped. There is nothing here any more,” said farmer Paulina September.

Overgrazing and lack of water makes it difficult for the emerging farmers to feed their livestock. Yet they pay a fee to the municipality for each animal for use of the commonage.

“For eight months I haven’t had water here. There is no water,” said farmer Mangaliso Mashiyi. “Can they not take us somewhere where there is wetter ground?”

Mashiyi said the day they had access to water, they would have no trouble paying their bills.

Maria Lankalebalela has to transport bales of feed as there isn’t enough food for the animals to graze on. She says that she is also struggling with access to water. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)

Aaron Ranayeke, a representative of the small-scale farmers at the Trust for Community Outreach and Education, said the draft commonage policy from 2022 would give the farmers more power to make decisions about the land. But the municipality had delayed implementing it.

“The municipality is running away from that power,” said Ranayeke.

The draft policy sets out a framework for the management of the commonage through a “Commonage Committee”. It is to consist of commonage users, representatives of the municipality and the departments of agriculture, water and the South African Police Service. This committee will make recommendations to the municipal council.

Every commonage is also to have a management committee with emerging farmers as members. The management committee would be responsible for managing the commonage and reporting to the Commonage Committee.

There isn’t always water available for the animals when they return from grazing in the field. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)

The acting district manager of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture’s directorate for Agricultural Producer Support and Development, Andres Majaja, said that the management of the commonage is the “sole responsibility” of the Dawid Kruiper Local Municipality.

Majaja said the last commonage committee meeting for Dawid Kruiper Municipality was held on 14 February 2014. A meeting to revive the Commonage Committee was held on 19 September 2024, but only two farmers attended the meeting, and “the meeting didn’t reach a desired outcome”.

Ranayeke said the reason the meeting was badly attended was because the municipality had postponed meetings with the farmers so many times.

Another meeting, where farmers were due to address the council, was cancelled. The farmers were told this when they arrived at the municipal buildings.

Majaja said the fees farmers were paying to the municipality were for the use of grazing. The funds should be applied to maintain fences and stock water systems on commonage farms.

About 80 small-scale farmers live on commonage land in Upington. The area is hot with very little rain. (Photo: Ashraf Hendricks)

“On municipal grazing land, there are no sustainable agricultural management practices followed, and these grazing areas tend to be the first to show signs of drought when conditions are unfavourable,” he said.

Dawid Kruiper municipality spokesperson Patrick Williams promised to respond to GroundUp’s questions but had not done so by the time of publication, despite numerous follow-ups. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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