by Olwetu Batyi | Oct 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Government boosts Ngqatyana woolgrowers
Intergovernmental efforts between the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform and Mbhashe Local Municipality have catapulted Ngqatyana woolgrowers to a commercial level with a fully-fledged sheep shearing shed.
The R600 000-worth shed was built by the local authority in the 2020/21 fiscal year for 35-member association of Ngqatyana Wool Growers Association who had been shearing their sheep on informal structures.
To professionalise the farmers, DRDAR supported the Ngqatyana woolgrowers with shearing equipment worth R103 000. The equipment includes a wool compressor, baling machine, trolleys, sorter, shears, tables and shearers.
MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Nonkqubela Pieters handed over the equipment to the woolgrowers for use on Tuesday [October 5] in Ngqatyana Village.
Pieters said the quantity of wool the farmers produced each season proved that with a touch of professional equipment they can produce world-class wool.
“Nina nenza lento urhulumente ayifunayo –qala ngalonto encinane unayo, uncedo luzakufumana endleleni,” she said.
“We are operating with limited resources therefore working with other spheres of government and other stakeholders is critical. This fiscal year it is your turn to benefit from your government as it was the case to others in the past.
Today we are giving you a steppingstone to add value in your wool –shear, sort, compress and bale at your own convenience.
This equipment will propel you to a commercial level where you will participate meaningfully in the world’s economy because most of our wool is shipped abroad,” added Pieters.
The Eastern Cape is listed among the producers of top class wool in the world.
The shearing equipment complements another initiative by DRDAR where the provincial department aided the Mbhashe Local Municipality woolgrowers with Merino sheep rams under its Livestock Improvement Scheme meant to improve the genetics of livestock of developing farmers.
Merino sheep are known for the quality of their wool and woolgrowers of Ngqatyana were among the beneficiaries of the Livestock Improvement Scheme.
Chairperson of Ngqatyana Woolgrowers Association, Mpumelelo Bhalindaba said this was going to be their first shearing season since they received the rams.
“I can safely say from today onwards, we are professional business people in wool production. The days of shearing on muddy surfaces with substandard equipment that tend to lower the quality of our wool are over now,” said Bhalindaba.
Government is continuously intervening with relevant service delivery to improve the livelihood in Xhora .
“In the past shearing seasons we have made a profit of more than R4 million across the Mbhashe Local Municipality. With the equipment we have received, surely our bottom line as the Ngqatyana Woolgrowers Association will improve,” he said.
Ngqatyana Woolgrowers Association sell their wool to one of the country’s wool specialists –Cape Mohair and Wool (CMW).
Treasurer of the 14 women member association, No-Ayini Sikhundla added that the equipment they received would make the shearing process easier and faster.
DRDAR didn’t only support the woolgrowers with shearing equipment, but the department trained the beneficiaries on professional wool production and continues to render veterinary support to the farmers to help maintain their flock.
The department has also forged partnerships with private industry players in a bid to further develop the communal woolgrowers.
by Olwetu Batyi | Oct 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Youth’s passion in Agriculture inspires MEC
By Thozi kaManyisana
THERE was much jubilation and ululation at Great Kei Municipality’s Mangqukela Village in Mooiplaas when Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) MEC Nonkqubela Pieters donated 1400 seedlings to a local cooperative.
Chicago Primary co-op owns a 4ha piece of land where they grow potatoes and maize as well as leafy vegetables which they sell at Spar Supermarket and the surrounding community.
“The passion of the youth here is inspiring, I am happy that I was engaged by young people who are working with their parents in the farming industry.
The agricultural sector has been historically dominated by men and some are now elderly hence I applaud the involvement of youth in this project.
It is very essential to work with youngsters in this industry so that they can see the value of the land where the wealth is,” she said.
The MEC was “elated” by the testimony of an unemployed graduate Nomagcina Suduka who told the MEC how the young people were active participants in agriculture from food gardens, ploughing fields to rearing livestock, poultry, as well as woodwork and fashion designing.
“I thought I would surprise you by coming here driving a tractor so that you can see a young woman can also drive a tractor and be able to plough,” said the 28-year-old who is ploughing vegetables on 2ha of land.
She said the MEC’s visit to the village, which has four “united” vegetable producing projects, has “encouraged us as young people.
We want to follow our parent’s foot steps so that when they are gone there can be continuation of growth and development.”
Chairperson of the five-member Chicago Primary Co-op Vuyisile Siko praised the department for its “continuous support, which is changing our lives for the better.
The MEC visit will give us the willpower to grow stronger and produce more.
“Land is the number one natural resource, which is the pillar of development and that is what we teach our children.”
He said they started their project in 2016 and DRDAR has been supporting them through its household food security programme that is aimed at ensuring households are producing food for consumption and generating profit with the surpuls.
The MEC committed herself to come back to area for other rural development initiatives like sewing and furniture making as well as other agriculture projects.
by Olwetu Batyi | Oct 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Youth camp entice youngsters into agriculture
Initiatives to spark the interest of young people into the lucrative agriculture sector that has also proven to be an economic driver in the Eastern Cape are at play.
The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform recently joined forces with private entities on a youth camp intended to spark interest for agriculture among youngsters in the province.
The two-day youth camp took place in Geluk Game Farm, Middelburg under the “Open your Eyes, open your Mind, open your Ears, you are a Walking Potential” Theme.
A group of 54 pupils formed part of the camp that is set to be an annual programme. The young minds came from different schools in the Chris Hani region.
Founder of the agricultural youth camp, Nokhanyo Maceba said she had to approach schools and pitched her intentions to the schools which gladly bought into her idea and released a certain number of pupils and that was the kickstart of the project
“The project is targeting school going agricultural learners especially those that are in agricultural schools across the province and those learners that are doing agriculture as one of their school subjects,” she said.
“The agricultural student camp is going to be an annual event where learners are exposed to different disciplines and ample of opportunities in the agricultural sector.
Agruse’s vision, the non-profit organisation that leads the youth camp, not only contributes to the development of the young person through the matric pass rate but also inspire them to choose agriculture as a career of choice .
Encourages and expose them to partake in all opportunities in the sector so that they can also be job creators instead of employees.
“Agriculture is significant contributor to economic development and the economy of the country and Agruse working with DRDAR and DALRRD and other stakeholders can contribute significantly to the plight of high rate underdevelopment and unemployment that the country is grappling with”, said Maceba.
The pupils who took part in the camp didn’t go home empty-handed as they received certificates.
by Olwetu Batyi | Aug 2, 2021 | atp1
Government intervention becomes lifeline to poultry farm
WITH South Africa currently experiencing untimely power outages that are attributed to dilapidated electrical infrastructure, many businesses whose operations customarily depend on the availability of electricity have either had to close or suspend sections of their operations to avoid wastage.
It is no doubt that technological developments have come in handy in the improvement of quantity and quality of production; and the agricultural sector which is crucial to both the country’s economy and livelihoods of citizens is one of the key beneficiaries to these advancements.
However, since the dawn of power shedding by the country’s power utility, the sector has suffered immensely with the less equipped developing farmers being the ones who feel the brunt the most.
Pilisa Fadana who runs a poultry farm in Haga Haga where she breeds chicken from electrical incubators to fully grown chicken that she sells to both formal and informal market in the Buffalo City Metro is back on full swing with a renewed hope after her business nearly closed down.
Fadana orders fertile eggs from a Johannesburg-based hatchery and incubates them in her Mhlelisa Farm. In the farm she rears broilers, boschveld, orpington and different breeds of layers.
Her business was on a brink of closure when she was hard-hit by power outages that saw her suspending the chicken hatchery services of her enterprise. But the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform has since given Mhlelisa Farm a lifeline through its Covid-19 relief fund which Fadana used to purchase 230V (5.5 kW) generator that feeds power to both her incubators and six chicken houses.
“Incubators always need to be powered when there are eggs inside and a 5-minute outage can be catastrophic. As much as I can’t remember the loss in figures, but I suffered severely when load shedding was implemented because we’d go two to four hours without electricity. The eggs would be spoiled even the chicks that have just hatched would die from cold while the few that survived wouldn’t grow at the expected rate,” said Fadana.
Fadana further used the disaster relief to reinforce security measures in her farm like CCTV cameras, feed milling machine, razor wire and used the remaining to buy feed.
“Almost all the production machinery in the farm uses electricity –from the borehole that we use for water to incubators, including lighting and heaters in our chicken structures,” she said.
The 54-year-old who hails from Ngcobo ventured into farming on a state-leased farm in 2011 following a horrific car accident in 2009 that kicked her out of her job where she was hired as a banker.
But thanks to her experience in subsistence farming, Fadana had to learn the ropes of the industry and trade at a commercial scale.
With only sheer determination and maternal instincts, she rose to bigger stages and bagged awards in the categories of both emerging farmer and subsistence farmer.
“Being honoured is motivating. It’s a way of saying ‘we see you. And you are on the right track’. Receiving the awards pushed me to work even harder on myself. But being a mother who has nurtured babies into adults has also helped me in the caring of my livestock,” she added.
To this day Fadana is just inches away from clinching life-changing deals of supplying one of the country’s biggest chain stores –a development which she couldn’t dwell much on due to contractual matters.
“The support I have been receiving from the department has brought in consistency in my business as far as production is concerned because now I am never out of stock. I am currently working on adding more chicken structures so I can be able to meet all the demands of the market. I have also managed to negotiate deals to supply some international businesses that are located in East London but the deal is on its infant stages and we are yet to sign on the dotted line,” said Fadana.
The family-run business employs four workers on a permanent basis but with expansion on the cards, Fadana foresees more opportunities.
by Olwetu Batyi | Jun 28, 2021 | atp1
Magwa Tea Estate in pictures
