20110125
reuters

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Heavy rains in South Africa have so far cost the country's farming sector over 2 billion rand in damages, an industry official said on Tuesday.

Flooding in South Africa has killed more than 100 people over the past month, has saturated farms in the major food producer for the continent and has led the government to declare 33 municipalities to be disaster areas.

"Preliminary assessments by us indicate that crop losses will be around the vicinity of a billion rand and infrastructure damage on farms will exceed a billion rand," Johannes Moller, president of farmer's group AgriSA, told reporters.

Agriculture minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson told lawmakers on Monday preliminary assessments showed about 1 million acres of land have been affected.

Joemat-Pettersson told reporters on Tuesday the government would help farmers make up for losses they suffered from lost crops and damaged infrastructure.

"There will not be financial compensation but an assistance package," Joemat-Pettersson said, adding the government could not yet give an estimate for how much would be spent on aid.

She also said that the government would talk to banks to negotiate the terms of debt payments for those farmers who would incur losses due to the floods.

Floods have also ravaged neighbouring Mozambique, where more than 13,000 people have seen their homes lost or damaged.

The government there has declared a red alert in the central and southern river basins of the country, spokesman Alberto Nkuthumula said on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.

Officials said at least three people were confirmed dead while more than 1,750 others had been displaced in the northern province of Nampula.