The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development requested all interested wholesalers, distributors, or agribusiness outlets to provide a listed breakdown of specific agricultural production inputs they have in stock.
This, said the department in a press release, will assist them in the emergency procurement of these inputs to enable smallholder and communal farmers to complete the current production cycle as part of the government's Covid-19-disaster-intervention programme. "The department intends to procure by means of issuing purchase vouchers to approved farmers. Farmers will purchase from the nearest wholesaler, distributor or agribusiness outlet," said the department.
The department requires a typical "cash-and-carry'' setup, not a middleman. "Interested suppliers should, therefore, provide a physical address of their business from where farmers can buy cash-and-carry products, using vouchers," said the department.
According to the department, smallholder and communal farmers will receive support in the form of specific agricultural inputs to enable them to complete the current production cycle. Their support will be capped at R50 000 per approved farmer.
The commodities to be supported and prioritised are:
* Poultry: Day-old chicks; point-of-lay chickens; feed; medication; and sawdust.
* Vegetables: Seedlings; fertiliser; pesticides; herbicides; and soil correction.
* Fruit: Fertiliser; pesticides; and herbicides.
* Other livestock: Feed and medication.
* Winter field crops: Soil correction; fertiliser; seeds, herbicides, and pesticides.
Interested suppliers can complete the vendor form, available at www.dalrrd.gov.za. The due date to submit the vendor forms is 23 April at 16:00. "Interested suppliers can submit per e-mail to any of our provincial offices for the attention of the Director: Finance and Supply Chain Management," said the department. The e-mail address for Limpopo is sibongile.ramalepe@drdlr.gov.za for the attention of Ms S Ramalepe. She can also be contacted at Tel 015 230 5003.