(1) Although agriculture was declared as essential service, smallholder production activities were negatively affected in the sector as they struggled to access their fields during initial lockdown period. There were post-harvest losses because of agro-logistics challenges experienced by farmers. Many smallholder farmers experienced loss of income and were also unable to prepare for the next planting season. There were reduced availability and access to extension services particularly during levels 5 and 4 of lockdown. There were other challenges such as:
(2) Yes. The Department provided disaster-specific relief to farmers. The Minister of Agriculture of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development secured funding of R1.2 Billion to assist smallholder farmers during April and May 2020. The fund was able to assist about 14 400 distressed smallholder farmers due to COVID-19 pandemic. A further R1 billion was allocated to the Department from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Initiative (PESI) to assist about 74 626 subsistence farmers who were not considered for the R1.2 Billion COVID-19 Relief. The Department is still implementing the R1 billion PESI intervention through e-vouchers.