The Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform honourable Gugile Nkwinti unveiled the Animal and Veld Management Programme (AVMP) Integrated Implementation Plan in Msinga village in KwaZulu-Natal. The programme is aimed at providing relief for farmers in the rural areas who are operating under challenging circumstances made worse by spatial congestion, and environmental degradation due to overgrazing.
The Minister identified issues of soil rehabilitation, spatial decongestion, and re-greening of the environment as the key delivery objectives of the AVMP. The programme is part of government’s intervention towards reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act which led to the congestion of the majority of black people into 13% of the land, resulting in challenges of overcrowding and overgrazing in communal areas.
As part of the programme the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform is identifying farmers in communal areas who have showed potential for successful farming. Based on their track record such farmers will be moved into some of the state-owned farms that have been identified, in order to enable them to expand their farming operations.
Speaking on behalf of the Gunjana livestock farmers during the launch, Mr Mkakeni Mchunu from Msinga village welcomed the introduction of the programme in their village.
“We have livestock but not enough grazing land. We appreciate not only the opportunity to access more land, but also the training and skills development in order to enhance our farming operations”, Mr Mchunu said.
As part of the roll out of the AVMP to the rest of the country, Minister Nkwinti announced that the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform will be hosting a Consultative workshop which will be attended by Ministers and MECs from partner government departments, as well as District Mayors. The workshop will take place on Tuesday, 17 September 2013 at the St. Georges Hotel in Centurion, Gauteng Province.
The Animal and Veld Management Programme is targeted for intervention at the country’s 24 poorest District Municipality areas. The Msinga area has been identified as one of the areas that has been most affected by soil erosion. A total of 27 young people from the local community who received training on Disaster Management, have been deployed as part of the environmental rehabilitation of the 42.5 hectares of land were the community members keep their livestock.
Enquiries:
Pulane Molefe
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Tel: 012 312 8452 or 012 312 9648
