The MEC for Agriculture in the Eastern Cape, Nonceba Kontsiwe, today honoured the province’s best-performing Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) practitioners at a glittering awards ceremony held at the Department of Agriculture’s Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development campus. The EAS practitioners, described by the Department as its “foot soldiers,” were recognised and awarded for their excellent, day-to-day work in providing crucial technical advice and coordinating agricultural initiatives across the province. Their efforts have been instrumental in transforming the lives of farmers. Their recognized work includes providing effective technical support to farmers, leveraging research and technology to improve agricultural productivity, enhancing access to markets and finance for rural communities and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. Addressing the scores of EAS practitioners at the event, MEC Kontsiwe emphasised their vital role: “You are the first people to transform the lives of the people on the ground,” said MEC Kontsiwe. She reaffirmed the Provincial Government’s commitment to the sector, citing its economic importance: “The reason why we are doing this is that you would have seen that the automotive sector is closing down in Gqeberha and we have agreed as cabinet that agriculture is the only economic backbone of this province. This is why we are going to expand our support to the farmers.” The MEC also announced that the Department has allocated R6 million to professionalise Extension Services in the province.
In her policy speech earlier this year MEC Kontsiwe announced that the implementation of Department of Agriculture (DoA) programmes is currently driven by 554 Extension and Advisory practitioners across the province and that the Department was conducting commodity-specific training to provide specialised and targeted support to different subsectors. She also announced that 240 extension practitioners have been trained in the 2024/25 with plans to increase this to 257 in 2025/26. Speaking on behalf of AmaMpondomise King Zwelozuko, Nkosi Pakamisa Tyali commended the EAS practitioners for their dedication.
“You are the ones who work directly with the land. It is the King’s wish that our land be used for the development of our people,” said Nkosi Tyali. Nkosi Tyali also used the platform to decry the prevalence of stock theft in the area. Mr. Msimelelo Mgolozelwa, who hails from the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality in the Chris Hani District, was announced as the overall winner of the awards. He expressed his gratitude for the recognition: “We thank the department for recognising the hard work we do as extension practitioners.” The categories were: Recogntion of Service Awards: Best Subject Matter Specialist – Mxolisi Mtyobeli – OR Tambo District Best Technical Support – Thabang Mankinya – Alfred Nzo District Best Extension Supervisor – Babalwa Makatisa – Alfred Nzo District Main Awards: Most Improved Young Professional – Samkelisiwe Zungu – Alfred Nzo District Legend/Lifetime Achiever – Khuthala Xulubana – Chris Hani District Best Extension Practioner Certificated – Phooko Best Extension Practitioner Candidate – Msimelelo Mgolozelwa Chris Hani District Best Extension Professional – Molosi – Amathole District Overall Winner – Msimelelo Mgolozelwa – Chris Hani District Best Performing District – OR Tambo District
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture (DoA) has delivered vital water infrastructure and production support to communities in Nqanqarhu (Maclear), bringing critical relief to vegetableproducing farmers who struggled with irrigation. The investment was celebrated by jubilant farmers during the official handover of the spring water projects, production inputs, and gardening tools, delivered as part of the Ilima/Letsema Lokulima Programme, which encourages the use of arable land. Agriculture MEC Nonceba Kontsiwe officially handed over the Sigoga and Saqhuthe villages spring water projects today. This initiative enhances water access for rural communities, providing clean water for domestic use and irrigating food gardens through 26 new water points for 205 households. To ensure synergy between water availability and food security, the MEC provided production inputs to 120 beneficiaries. This move aims to reduce food insecurity, boost local production, and
She said they have been battling to irrigate their vegetables because fetching water for consumption was an eventful and tiring exercise and as such, many members of the community were unable to get water for irrigation.
“We are also engaging with the local youth who are struggling with substance abuse, encouraging them to join us so we can combat poverty together,” added Sokwenye. Simthembile Folotyi of Upper Tsitsana village expressed gratitude for the material support saying “The seedlings, fertilizers and tools we received will not only assist us in fighting poverty but will also help us develop. We are thankful to the Department for the assistance, which will enable us to produce diverse vegetables to fight hunger and poverty.” MEC Kontsiwe emphasized that the Ilima Lokulima Programme is designed to advance community cohesion and food security: “This programme aims to bring people together to work their gardens, produce food and fight poverty with government support, including seedlings, fertilizers and gardening tools. We want them to consume their produce and also sell the surplus to markets. The new spring water infrastructure ensures that people will no longer face the challenge of fetching irrigation water from distant locations, which is critical in areas where rainfall is scarce. The happiness of the community here is deeply encouraging to us,” said Kontsiwe.
Regarding the sewing machines, the MEC stated that the goal is to enhance the quality of garments produced by the local women. The long-term vision is to see these locally made clothes being stocked and sold in reputable clothing stores.
enable the aggregation of food for potential markets. Ntombizanele Sonkwenye from Sigoga village expressed relief, noting that the community previously “battled to access water and had to walk long and dangerous distances” to fetch it. While in Lower Tsitsana village, MEC Kontsiwe also handed over 32 industrial sewing machines (overlockers and straight machines) to 16 women-led enterprises from three Joe Gqabi local municipalities, fostering local economic development. “The areas where we previously fetched water were overgrown with bushes and dangerous, creating fear, especially when sending our children during these times of high crime. But the government has now provided us with water straight from the mountain. Today, we are drinking clean, healthy water. We are truly overjoyed and grateful for this support from our government” said Sonkwenye who is one of the beneficiaries of the Ilima lokuLima programme.
The Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture officially launched the R100 million worth 2025/26 Cropping Season in Bhaziya Village, Mthatha today.
The event, held during World Food Security Month, served as a platform for MEC for Agriculture, Nonceba Kontsiwe, to champion the role of youth in the sector and detail the provincial government’s multi-pronged approach to tackling food insecurity and poverty.
MEC Kontsiwe, committed to encouraging and supporting young people to join agriculture, deliberately used the youth-owned agribusiness, Jay Jay Farming, in Mputi village near Mthatha, to showcase excellence and the opportunities available in the sector. The 2025/26 summer cropping season will cover approximately 23,000 hectares, comprising grain, vegetable and fodder crops. This builds on the success of the 2024/25 season, during which the Department successfully planted 22,584 hectares of maize, yielding more than 112,920 tons of grain. About 90% of the total targeted hectares are dedicated to grain production.
The MEC for Agriculture Nonceba Kontsiwe today officially handed over a fully equipped shearing shed to woolgrowers in Pirrie Mission. She was accompanied by Dr Fundisile Bese, Chairperson of the Legislature Portfolio Committee on Agriculture. The handover was part of the official activities of Taking Legislature To The People.
The Department of Agriculture’s Ngqushwa Local office today handed over food production inputs to local farmers under the Ilima lokulima Food Production Programme (2025–2030).
Members of the local community received poultry feed, piggery feed, potato, carrot and butternut seeds.
Ngqushwa Local Municipality Mayor delegated councilors Nomzamo Mthathi, Nandipha Dyalvani, Nondyebo Jako and Chief Njokweni from emazizini traditional council and deputy chairperson of Ngqushwa house of traditional leaders attended and delivered messages of support at the event. #Ilimalokulima
