MEC Pieters to launch grain planting season in Ngcobo tomorrow morning
DRDAR MEC Nonkqubela Pieters will launch grain planting season tomorrow morning at the Dalasile Agri Park in Ngcobo as part of the Department’s ongoing investment in commercial and communal grain production.
When she tabled the Department’s policy speech at the Eastern Cape Legislature in March, MEC Pieters announced that the Department has allocated R102 million for grain production on 27 774 hectares of land. More than 9000 smallholder and subsistence farmers in the province’s grain corridor that include Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Joe Gqabi, Chris Hani and the OR Tambo districts will benefit from this investment.
The Department’s support to grain producers includes production inputs like seeds, chemicals, mechanization units for cultivating the land, and commercial partnerships. While the province’s commercial grain contribution is only at 1%, the Department is working tirelessly to boost emerging and smallholder producers to increase hectarage and farm income through commercialization of grain production.
Between 2018 and 2022, grain production in the province grew by more than 100% from 93 200 in 2018 to 198 650 tons. This increase was driven by area expansion from 14 500 hectares to 26 000 hectares with yields also increasing steadily over this time period.
In the current financial year, the delivery of production inputs in Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Chris Hani and OR Tambo is complete while farmers in the Joe Gqabi District will be supported through mechanization because they prefer to buy their own production inputs.
As part of this season’s grain production programme, DRDAR will plant grain on more than 2000 ha of land in the Dr AB Xuma Local Municipality in partnership with the Dalasile Agri-park.
Farmers participating in our programme produce yellow maize, white maize, oats, soya beans, sorghum that is sold to diverse buyers that include households, animal feed producing companies, food producing companies and earns farmers more income for their households and businesses.
Members of the media are invited to attend this programme and details are as follows:
Date: 19 October 2023
Venue: Dalasile Agri Park, Nkondlo Village, Ngcobo.
Time: 0900
For more information, to RSVP please contact Mrs Abongile Booi on 072 637 5141, Mr Masiza Mazizi on 066 010 4865
