South Africa’s poultry producers will be hoping against hope that the government will somehow find a reasonable amount of money to compensate them for the huge losses they have suffered from this year’s bird flu outbreak.
In a presentation to parliament last month, the SA Poultry Association (SAPA) put those losses at R4.8 billion so far – R1.8 billion for broiler (chicken) producers, and R3 billion for egg producers.
Unlike other countries, the South African government does not compensate poultry farmers for chickens it orders them to cull as part of the effort to prevent the spread of bird flu. The 7.5 million birds culled this year brings the total since 2017 to 13 million, with no compensation paid.
At the same portfolio committee hearing where SAPA detailed its losses, the Department of Agriculture said it had no funds to compensate chicken farmers. However, a few days later Deputy President Paul Mashatile said some money would be forthcoming.
He said Agriculture Minister Thoko Didiza would “soon” announce a relief package for poultry producers hit by bird flu losses. Details will be announced then.
Mashatile said the government would use “some” of a R3.5 billion agricultural fund to help the poultry farmers.
The fund in question may be the blended finance scheme that Minister Didiza announced last year. This is a 10-year scheme to provide a combination of loans and grants to historically disadvantaged farmers. It is organised in co-operation with the Land Bank, and the department aims to contribute a minimum of R3.2 billion over the 10 years.
That’s not nearly enough to compensate farmers for the losses the have suffered this year alone, but every bit will help. Relief of any kind will be particularly welcome for small-scale farmers threatened with closure because they have lost their stock and have no means of replacing it.
The problem facing the poultry industry is, as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana keeps reminding the country, that the government is extremely short of money. With spending too high and revenue too low, generous compensation packages are likely to be as rare as hen’s teeth. The minister repeated the belt-tightening message in his medium-term budget statement this week.
