Experts to drive revitalisation of agriculture

On a piece of tribal trust land in rural Limpopo, a group of women are producing more than 27 000 boxes of table grapes for the European market.

The Peace Table Grapes co-operative in Moganyaka village near Marble Hall in the Ephraim Mogale district was the winner in the export category in the national Female Farmers of the Year Awards last year. Limpopo is renowned for being an agricultural powerhouse that consistently boasts winners in the Female Farmers of the Year Awards categories.

The Limpopo provincial government has now put together a team of experts to drive the revitalisation of the agriculture and agroprocessing value chain plan to ensure that more success stories like Peace Table Grapes emerge.

During his recent state of the province address (Sopa) in Polokwane, Premier Chupu Mathabatha said that the plan was earmarked for finalisation in June.

He said it would focus on research and development; land availability and access; finance and partnership models; production, markets and logistics; and capacity building and training.

Agriculture, mining and tourism are the main drivers of the economy in the province.

Mathabatha also announced during his Sopa that, as part of its commitment to invest in training and skills development of farmers, the province had trained more than 960 farmers to date.

“In partnership with AgriSeta and through our Agricultural Colleges, we have provided focused skills development programmes to a further 306 farmers across the province,” Mathabatha said.

At least 80% of Limpopo is rural and boasts an abundance of arable land, which gives the province a competitive advantage in agriculture. Mathabatha said it was in this context that they were working to unlock the potential of agriculture to ensure maximum contribution to food security, economic growth and job creation.

He said that, to date, remarkable progress had been made in revitalising primary agriculture and supporting agroprocessing.

Mathabatha said that, accordingly, government had put together a team of experts to drive the revitalisation of agriculture and agroprocessing value chain plan. He said the plan should be finalised in June.

Mathabatha said the irrigation scheme revitalisation programme, which is part of a broader plan to revitalise agriculture, was well on track.

“In Ephraim Mogale Local Municipality alone, a total of 345 hectares of cotton have been planted. This will benefit no less than 74 small-scale farmers in Zamekomste, Dichoeung, Tsimanyane and Readirabaswa. The projected harvest for this cotton is 522 tons, with an estimated 300 seasonal jobs being available during the harvesting period,” Mathabatha said.

The premier added that the process of clearing an area of more than 100 hectares was in progress for the Mogalatjane Irrigation Scheme. He said the designs for 41 hectares at Tswelopele Irrigation Scheme in Fetakgomo Tubatse Local Municipality had been approved.

“Along the same vein, we are concluding engagements regarding the Kolokotela and Setlaboswana irrigation schemes,” he said about the projects that run along the Lepelle River in the Marble Hall area.

Mathabatha said government had committed to supporting black farmers to increase entry numbers into the mainstream food value chain. This, he said, was being done through ensuring access to supportive infrastructure and the markets.

As part of this support, he said, the construction of Matsika Pack House was under way, and the upgrading of a tomato paste processing facility for Norjax Canning was nearing completion.

“We have also commenced with the establishment of farmer production support units. These units are the first phase of our agri-parks plan. They provide a cluster of services for primary production, and post-harvest handling and storage, as well as coordination of transportation logistics,” he said.

Agri-parks are networked innovation systems of agroproduction, processing, logistics, marketing, training and extension services located in a district municipality. They comprise the Farmer Production Support Unit, Agri-hub and the Rural Urban Market Centre.

One of the key roles of agri-parks is to support growing towns and the revitalisation of rural towns in terms of high economic growth, and to promote rural urban linkages.

Mathabatha said that, during this financial year, government would complete the construction of the Masala Farmer Production Support Unit in Mopani and that of Vleisboom in Sekhukhune.

He said the construction of the Farmer Production Support Units of Tshiombo in Vhembe and Mapela in the Waterberg would commence in the 2020/21 financial year. – Mukurukuru Media

Get in touch  City Press

+27 11 713 9001 news@citypress.co.za Media Park, 69 Kingsway Road, Auckland Park

Rise above the clutter | Choose your news | City Press in your inbox

City Press is an agenda-setting South African news brand that publishes across platforms. Its flagship print edition is distributed on a Sunday.