The 2021/22 agricultural season started with rising concerns about heavy rains that resulted in floods in parts of the country. It does not come as a surprise to see the price of tomatoes going up by as much as 11% to R27/kg.

Big tomato company producers like ZZ2 are among the worst affected groups that experienced excess rain that damaged their tomato crops. The more rain and cloudy weather persist, the repercussion will be that tomatoes will not ripen in time.

There is no shortage of evidence that farmers in various regions are worried that they won't be able to maximise on the land available for planting, negatively affecting the agricultural economy. Provinces such as North West, Free State and parts of the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are among those affected.

It is a relief to learn from the estimates released by the department of agriculture, land reform and rural development's crop estimates committee that the 2021/22 summer crop plantings are 4.21m hectares, which is 0.4% more than the 2020/21 production season.

“This data is comforting and the first bit of information that suggests that while the recent rains have been destructive in many regions, SA's food security is still protected. The weather conditions for the next two months remain critical for the ultimate crop yields for the 2021/22 season,” said minister Thoko Didiza.

It's commendable for the department for being in pursuit of food security. Such effort must be extended to help affected farmers who lost their crops during the floods.

Mphahlela M Rammutla, Proclamation Hill, Pretoria