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17 April 2008

The Eastern Cape Department this financial year will buy farms for both women and youth participating in the agri-business sector, MEC Gugile Nkwinti announced on last night (Wednesday, 16 April 2008).

Speaking during the start of the three-day Youth in Rural Development and Agriculture (YARD) electoral conference held in East London, Nkwinti promised the packed hall that: "I want to see that (buying of farms) happening."

"This will be done this year."

"We cannot just say things we won't do to our mothers because we are all born by mothers," Nkwinti assured more than 500 delegates attending the conference.

Depicting his idea, Nkwinti said he would love to see farms where young people can be trained in farming, business and customer care skills and can able to reach out to the market in order to sell their products.

"It (the farm) will belong to the youth and be accessible for training.

"I want the youth to know that agriculture is a business.

"If you want to be a business it means you are going to start respecting and organising yourselves so that you can be attractive to the market and clients," he said.

The MEC stressed the importance of the need for the youth in agriculture to organise themselves so that when they get the farm they have a common purpose – to work and develop the farm.

He urged the youth to stick to organised farmers' unions and women's organisation such as Women in Rural Development and Agriculture (WARD) to get assistance on how to manage a successful and profitable farm.

MEC for Education, Johnny Makgato urged young farmers that they should "not emerge forever" but they should grow into prosperous commercial farmers.

Makgato said if the youth reinstate the glory of the lands that are not ploughed that could curb the high prices of food, which he attributed to the "scarcity trick" and that people were moving away from farming.

Among the issues to be discussed would be how to mobilise the private sector and financial institutions to rally behind young farmers and how best the youth can contribute and participate in the procurement process in agriculture.

Makgato challenged the youth to youth to engage the Eastern Cape Youth Commission to push the education department's further education and training (FET) institutions to have agricultural studies in their curriculum.

For more information contact:
Thozi Manyisana
Senior Communications Officer
Cell: 078 210 2996

Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Eastern Cape Provincial Government
17 April 2008