The Government funding will help speed up the recovery of North Island farming businesses, which were impacted by the severe weather.
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has given $200,000 to the Rural Support Trust to help North Island farmers recover from ex Tropical Cyclone Dovi.
“The Ministry for Primary Industries is working closely with sector groups and other agencies to continue assessing the extent of storm damage and shift towards recovery efforts,” O’Connor said.
“The funding will help farmers and growers now facing a huge clean-up effort after ex Tropical Cyclone Dovi passed through, which includes restoring access to their properties.
“In Taranaki, where storms struck twice within a week, bridges and more than 100 culverts have been damaged, which will require heavy diggers to repair.
“In the Waitomo District floodwaters swept through two valleys, damaging fences and depositing silt over farms. In the Wairarapa, as many as 30 arable farms have been affected by flooding, damaging barley, wheat, peas, squash, and maize crops.
The funding will help speed up the recovery of farming businesses and includes wellbeing support and specialist technical advice. It also enables the use of Enhanced Taskforce Green workers, should they be required to help.
“We will continue to assess whether further support is needed as the full extent of the storm damage becomes more apparent over the coming weeks,” he said.
Farmers needing help to manage feed shortages are encouraged to contact their levy body, such as DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand, or Federated Farmers. Horticulture NZ and the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) are on hand to provide support to impacted growers.
