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Pretoria - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson on Thursday urged banks to extend debt repayment periods of farmers hit by recent floods.
She also urged the insurance industry to process claims from flood-hit farmers speedily.
A decision was taken at a two-day meeting in Pretoria between provincial agriculture MECs and the minister to meet with the insurance industry and fast track payments to insured farmers.
This would enable them to resume productivity as soon as water levels had subsided and ensure food security for the country, Joemat-Pettersson said.
Earlier this week the minister met representatives of the commercial agriculture sector, which offered to put together a team of technical experts to advise her in her response to the disaster.
Farms along the Orange River and some of its tributaries have been hit the hardest.
On Tuesday, AgriSA president Johannes Möller said according to the organisation's preliminary estimates floods had caused about R1bn in lost agricultural production, and another R1bn in damage to farm infrastructure.
Joemat-Pettersson has ruled out any cash payments to farmers affected by the floods, but said government assistance would come in the form of reconstruction of damaged infrastructure such as dams, bridges, roads, canals, fences and irrigation systems as well as provision of seed, fertiliser and implements.
