Grain SA: South Africa must admit national drought crisis to help farmers - Interview

South Africa must formally declare a national disaster for the government to release relief funds to help farmers through the worst drought in a century, the country's largest grain producer group said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

With five out of nine provinces labelled disaster zones due to drought, the country now needs to acknowledge the situation nationally as farmers are starting to capitulate, Grain SA Chief Executive Jannie de Villiers told Reuters. "Our Minister of Agriculture is well informed but I think we need leadership to declare it a disaster so that the process can be triggered," he said.