Officials from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) and female farmers around Gauteng can't wait for the forthcoming Agri-Business Woman of the Year [ABWY] competition to be held in Gallagher conference center in Johannesburg on 25 August 2011.
Agri-Business Woman of the Year competition [ABWY] formerly known as Female Farmer of the Year was initiated by the department in 2010. The department seeks to promote women participating in agricultural business activities. The ABWY event seeks to encourage women and increase their participation in agricultural activities.
The event recognises the achievements of women participating in different categories within the agricultural sectors. The ABWY is an empowerment platform that recognizes the agribusiness skills of women within the sector. The event takes place during Women's Month, August, which is dedicated to the economic empowerment of South African women. Economic empowerment is the focal point of this year's annual Women's Month celebrations across the country. With the upcoming Agri-Business Woman of the Year [ABWY] competition, GDARD would like to encourage women to participate in agricultural activities in order to be economically active.
During her speech on Sunday in Pretoria, Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana unveiled the 2011 Women's Month programme. "We will use Women's Month to highlight the economic empowerment of women as a critical element of success for South Africa's efforts to achieve the targets on economic growth, including the creation of five million jobs within the next ten years, as outlined in the New Growth Plan,” she noted.
The highlight of the month is National Women's Day on 9 August, celebrated this year under the theme, 'Working together to enhance women's opportunities to economic empowerment'.
Source: Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Agriculture key to empower women
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