DURBAN - ORGANISED agriculture has called on the government to place farmers and farmworkers in the essential service category so that they can get Covid-19 vaccines early.
African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa) and Agri SA have warned the government that failure to vaccinate the farming community could have dire implications and put the country’s food security at risk, this as the vaccination of teachers and other workers in the education sector got under way yesterday.
Afasa president Jabulani Mthembu said the farming community had been at work even during the lockdown, a move which he said underlined the importance of the sector in the country’s economy.
“This means that from the word go, the farming community has been exposed to a health risk for quite a while and should therefore be considered as next in line after teachers when it comes to vaccination,” said Mthembu.
He added that food production was important, especially as the country was experiencing a third wave of Covid-19 infections.
“The fact of the matter is that food is essential for every human being and any medication that is taken works well when a patient has eaten, so it is quite clear that those who work in the food production sector should be a priority when rolling out the vaccine,” he told The Mercury yesterday.
Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede said farmers and farmworkers who live in rural areas and who are most vulnerable to the Covid19 virus, are responsible for producing food regardless of the third wave of infections.
“As they play a critical role in ensuring food security, Agri SA appeals to government to also prioritise the agricultural sector in terms of the national vaccination roll-out,” he urged.
Van der Rheede said that the government had prioritised health-care workers, those over the age of 60 and recently educational staff to be vaccinated, without considering critical essential workers such as the agricultural sector.
With the winter months upon the country, Agri SA said it was concerned that the infection rate had risen by an alarming rate throughout South Africa.
He urged more focus on the poor state of infrastructure in rural areas, warning that it could also constrain the efficient roll-out of the vaccination drive in these areas.
In addition to this, Agri SA encouraged farmers and farmworkers over the age of 60 to register for the vaccine to ensure that further lives are not lost due to the pandemic.
South African Farmers Development Association chairperson Dr Siyabonga Madlala said given that farmers had already been considered as essential workers by President Cyril Ramaphosa during the first wave of Covid-19, they should also be prioritised in the vaccination programme.
The association committed to avail resources to mobilise farmers and farmworkers to be vaccinated if the government prioritised them.
THE MERCURY