Cape Town - Devastated farmers whose crops were destroyed in a massive hail storm that wrecked havoc in Langkloof, a small village in the north-east of George on Sunday, say they are slowly picking up the pieces.
The storm, which affected several areas, including the entire valley from Avontuur and Uniondale to Joubertina and Krakeel, is suspected to have caused the most damage around Misgund.
Damages so far have been estimated to be around at least R60 million.
Robin Baldie of the J Baldie & Sons farm said there were at least 10 farms in the area that have been affected.
“There has been a lot of damage.
“The hail was mostly in Haarlem and Misgund.
“In areas where the fruit was not covered by nets, massive damage has been done.
“Between 25 000 and 35 000 bins have been destroyed.
“I was speaking to another farmer, and they have lost massively compared to what we have lost.
“We've lost between 10 and 20 percent of our crop while other people have lost more.
“We are close to mid way in the season so a lot of fruit has been picked but its still a major loss,” he said.
“We have been slowly putting up nets, but that is very expensive.
“But it is the route that everybody is trying to follow.
“The hail is devastating, and adds into the other challenges we are facing in the farming industry.
“We are slowly picking up the pieces and we cannot dwell on what has happened as we still have work that needs to be done,“ said Baldie.
The topfruit harvest is around a third of the way through in the Langkloof. Some affected farmers said they had been left to count their losses as most of the crop had been wiped out.
Marius van der Westhuizen of the Southern Fruit Farms said the damage was was extensive in the Langkloof production area.
“Harvest is about a third along, so there is still a lot of fruit to be harvested.
“Mostly varieties of pears and apples are still to be harvested.
“It is too early to state figures, but extensive damage occurred in Avontuur, Haarlem, Misgund and other areas of Langkloof,” he said.
Van der Westhuizen said he was still busy with assessments to determine the extent of the damage.
AgriSA chief executive Christo van der Rheede said the incident once again showed how exposed farmers were to various environmental risks.
“The risks that farmers are facing are real.
“I trust that they will receive the necessary support to recover from this,” said Van der Rheede.
Cape Times