1. PRESENTATION FOR THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE P ROGRESS REPORT BY THE D EPARTMENT OF A GRICULTURE, F ORESTRY AND F ISHERIES (DAFF) ON DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT. 30 JANUARY 2014

2. Purpose of the presentation The purpose of the presentation is to update the Portfolio Committee on the following: Progress reports on Plans and Response Strategy for Disaster Management in the sector with regard to veld fires, drought and floods 2

3. Introduction The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) facilities the implementation of Disaster Risk Management in the sector through the Disaster Management Act (Act 57 of 2002) amongst other legislations. The DAFF prioritises the disaster risk reduction phase as emphasised by the Disaster Management Act where activities aimed at disaster risk avoidance, prevention, mitigation and preparedness are performed. The disaster response and recovery follows the disaster risk reduction phase in cases of disaster occurrences. 3

4. Disaster Response and Management Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation and Prevention  DAFF is implementing disaster risk mitigation and prevention fund through MTEF period.  This fund implement programmes and projects aimed at prevention and mitigation of disaster risks i.e. drilling of boreholes, construction of firebreaks, creating awareness in the farming communities as well as conducting research in disaster risk management amongst others. Early Warning System  One of the disaster risk reduction tools implemented by DAFF is an Early Warning System whereby monthly advisories and daily extreme weather warnings are disseminated to the farming community for proper response. DAFF follows the advisories in the provinces to clear the challenges posed by the dissemination channels.

5. Disaster Response and Management  DAFF further utilises media to disseminate the early warning information in the provinces. Awareness and Capacity Building  DAFF embarks on awareness campaigns on disaster risk management in the provinces for officials and farmers. The capacity buildings further address the understanding, interpretation and usage of weather and climate to agriculture for disaster risk reduction. 5

6. Disaster Response and Management Research  Other activities include research to identify areas and measures in addressing disaster risk management in the sector.  Currently three research projects are being conducted with the Agricultural Research Council, namely Sensitivity of crop suitability in South Africa to climate change, Mitigation and adaptation to climate variability and change in Thabo Mofutsanyane district (Biogas production) and Weather forecast information dissemination in two selected provinces of South Africa. Disaster Risk Management Policies  DAFF developed disaster risk management policies and enforce compliance through the provincial department. 6

7. Disaster Response and Management Prevalent disaster related occurrences and Disaster Assistance Schemes Floods  Heavy rains resulting in floods are amongst recurrent disaster related in the country.  Western Cape Province has been mostly affected and several Flood Assistance Schemes have been established and implemented in the past years.  Priority regarding assistance is on the repair of damaged infrastructure. 7

8. Disaster Response and Management Flood Assistance Schemes The 2011 Flood Assistance Schemes  Funding has been approved by National Treasury for the floods that occurred in the six provinces (Limpopo, Eastern Cape, North West, Gauteng, Free State, and Northern Cape) between December 2010 and February 2011.  Approved funding is as per verification and costing undertaken by the National Disaster Management Center (NDMC) with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA).  Funding is made available in phases to provinces.  Implementation of this scheme is underway in all six provinces with the focus on infrastructure repairs.  Most of the repair work has been completed and the scheme is to be finalised in 2014/15 financial years. 8

9. Disaster Response and Management  DAFF continues to monitor implementation and also provide support to the province.  The support is more on Northern Cape Province due to enormous repair work to be done and huge allocation approved by National Treasury. Financial progress for Quarter 2 (JAS 2013) as submitted by provinces 9 ProvincesAmount allocatedExpenditureCommitted fundsBalance% spent Eastern Cape 2,990,000.000.00 2,990,000.000% Free State 8,969,000.003,267,870.200.005,701,129.8036% Gauteng 4,484,000.000.00526,632.303,957,367.700% Limpopo 14,948,000.000.009,649,588.705,298,411.300% Northern Cape 263,084,000.00204,063,419.000.0059,020,581.0078% North West4,484,000.00862,616.39231,527.593,389,856.0219% TOTALSR 298,959,000.00R 208,193,905.59R 10,407,748.59R 80,357,345.8270%

10. Disaster Response and Management The 2013 Flood Assistance Scheme  The funding request was approved by National Treasury for the floods that occurred in Western Cape in 2011 as well as floods of 2012 in Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces.  Funding approval was done by National Treasury during the Budget Adjustment Period for the current financial year (2013/14).  DAFF established 2013 Flood Assistance Scheme for the three provinces and funding is made available in instalments through budget adjustment and MTEF period. 10

11. Disaster Response and Management The breakdown for the 2013 Flood Assistance Scheme is as follows: 11 Provinces2013/14 Allocations (Budget Adjustment) (R’000) 2014/15 Allocations (R’000) 2015/16 Allocations (R’000) Limpopo (2012 floods) R2 475R10 312 R7 837 Mpumalanga (2012 floods) R303R1 263 R960 Western Cape (2011 floods) R1 517 R183 942R4 804

12. Disaster Response and Management Drought  Dry conditions were reported by several provinces within the country, this was due to less rainfall and high temperatures.  Reports were submitted by Limpopo, Free State, North West and Northern Cape Provinces.  The main need as identified by the provinces is feed and water to sustain livestock. However, relief to the province with regard to drought is mainly dependent on good farming practices and rainfall in order for the grazing veld to recover and for water sources to be recharged.  Following the processes, a provincial state of disaster was declared in North West Province and an amount of R43 630 000.00 has been made available for livestock feed (R35 000 000.00) and water related infrastructure projects (R 8 630 000.00). The distribution is currently underway in the province.  Furthermore, a state of disaster is also approved in Northern Cape Province and the process to request funding is underway. 12

13. Disaster Response and Management  The other remaining provinces (Limpopo and Free State) have submitted necessary documents for the disaster to be declared.  DAFF provides guidance and support regarding the procedure to be followed in disaster declarations. Veld fires  Veld fire occurrences were reported in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Limpopo Provinces however declarations were not done.  Some provinces were able to make resources available to assist the vulnerable affected farming communities. 13

14. Areas of concerns and Actions Area of concern - Prioritization of Disaster Assistance Schemes by farming communities versus risk reduction initiatives. Most farming communities are neglecting their responsibility regarding implementation of risk reduction initiatives and not accepting a reality that funding approval is dependent on the approval by National Treasury as well as the availability of funds within the National Revenue. o Action - awareness campaigns and education and training to change the mindset of the past in prioritizing post disaster response and recovery phase. Area of concern – Funding methods used by National Treasury. The following are several concerns on the method used by National Treasury:  Funds are only made available during the Budget Adjustment Period or at the beginning of the financial year only regardless of when disasters have occurred. The system poses a challenge as by the time funding is made available the farming communities that were affected are worse off and the damages have escalated.

15. Areas of concerns and Actions  Funds are made available over a maximum of 3 years (MTEF period) regardless of the amount allocated to a province. Challenges are experienced when approved amounts are huge and repair works are on intensive infrastructure repairs which require approval from other government departments such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). o Action – Sessions are regularly arranged with the NDMC to discuss the areas of concern and DAFF also participates in relevant structures. Area of concern - Frequency of disaster related hazards and limited resources o Action - emphasis on research and adaptation and encourage insurance on insurable commodities by farming communities

16. Conclusion DAFF is currently implementing the prevention and mitigation of disaster risks fund over the MTEF period as a long-term measure in disaster risk management. Research indicates that many response measures and interventions especially on post disaster relief instituted by government, international organizations, agencies and donors, have actually increased vulnerability by fostering and increasing dependency on internal or external assistance. Hence the priority for Disaster Management Act (57 of 2002) is on disaster risk reduction particularly through strengthening of early warning systems and dissemination of early warning as well as awareness campaigns to build resilient farming communities. Climate change mitigation and adaptation have to be harmonized with integrative disaster risk reduction. 16

17. THANK YOU