competition 2006 draws to a close
7 July 2006
The Northern Capeâs Department of Agriculture and Land Reform and the
sponsors of the Provincial Female Farmer of the Year Competition 2006 are to
conduct the final adjudication of the provinceâs best female farmers on the 21
July 2006. The call for applications campaign drew a heartening response from
prospective participants whose enterprises are currently being assessed by the
competitionâs evaluation team. The evaluation team will serve its short-list to
the adjudicators who are to recommend the winners to MEC Tina
Joemat-Pettersson. The MEC will then lift the veil of secrecy by announcing the
winners amid the usual pomp and ceremony at a gala event on 3 August 2006 in
Colesburg. The national event is to be held in Durban on the 27 August
2006.
Apart from the increase in quality entries, the growth of this event has
also been marked by Standard Bank and Griekwaland Wes Koöperatief retaining
their status as provincial sponsors of the competition with Try Me distributor
of fresh produce emerging as the new entrant. The national sponsorship scales
remains unchanged with ABSA, Land Bank, Total SA, Onderstepoort Biological
Products and Bayer Health Care benevolently assisting government in recognising
and rewarding female farmers for providing food security and economic
growth.
A staggering prize-money of over R120 000 is at stake for this yearâs
provincial winners who would be faced with the daunting task of repeating the
provinceâs feat of producing national winners in two of the four categories:
top producer for national markets, top producer for informal markets, top
producer for household food security and top producer for export markets. Ms
Colene Grievelink of Hanover is South Africaâs reining Female Farmer of the
Year and also holds the crown of Top Producer for National Markets. Felicity
Fillis of De Aar who sold her dining room suite to buy ostrich chicks scooped
the National Informal Market award.
Competition background
The Female Farmer Competition is an instrument through which womenâs
contribution to the fight against poverty is being recognised and encouraged.
The competition acknowledges women as the lifeline of society and the
custodians of household food security whose role is critical in improving the
quality and quantity of agricultural products through improved delivery,
innovation and excellence.
This initiative further seeks to:
* lift the social, cultural and economic barriers that have subjected women
to play a peripheral role in the sector,
* thwart the spectre of a decline in the provinceâs agricultural sectorâs
growth by encouraging the entry of new farmers to ensure an improved food
production.
* combat inequities by soliciting support from various quarters of the industry
that would include, financial institutions and agricultural specialists,
and
*·enable women to have the same opportunities and access to resources.
In selecting the winners we focused on aspects such as entrepreneurial
development, job creation and the management of agricultural resources for
current and future generations.
Hence the winners would at all times display the following
characteristics:
* demonstrate a degree of innovation and creativity in improving existing
farming systems with the responsible use of production inputs, and
* demonstrate a sense of innovation in financial management, created and
retained employment opportunities
Enquiries:
Thabo Mothibi
Cell: 083 255 8840
E-mail: tmothibi@grand.ncape.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Agriculture and Land Reform, Northern Cape
Provincial Government
7 Jul 2006
Source: Department of Agriculture and Land Reform, Northern Cape Provincial
Government (http://www.agric.ncape.gov.za)
