KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture, Environmental Affairs and Rural Development, Mrs Lydia Johnson will address the uThungulu Agricultural Summit on tomorrow (Friday) ahead of World Food Day celebrations on Sunday, 16 October 2011. The two day summit which starts on 14 to 15 October is organised by uThungulu District Municipality to look into issues of agrarian revolution and eradicating poverty amongst communities.
The theme for the summit is “All working together aimed at equally benefiting on the fruit of the land / Sisonke sisebenza ngokubambisana ngenhloso yokuzuza ngokulingana esivunweni somhlabathi”.
The summit will delve into issues of cooperatives development, availability of markets to sell excess produce and other aspects of agribusiness. The summit agenda will also rope in the World Food Day theme message “Food Prices-from Crises to Stability. Research by the municipality has revealed that the dearth of markets is a major obstacle to farmers’ growth and development in the sector. The summit will therefore give local farmers an opportunity to come together and trash out all of the abovementioned issues.
MEC Johnson’s address to the summit will reflect on food security issues in the province, measures to alleviate poverty and the role of agriculture in creating sustainable livelihoods. The summit will also present an opportune moment for the MEC to interact and share information with small holder farmers as planting season activities gain momentum.
Details of the summit are as follows:
Date: 14 to 15 October 2011
Venue: Richards Bay Rugby Club
Time: 10h00 to 16h00
Media is requested to attend and your presence will be highly appreciated.
Enquiries:
Ncumisa Mafunda
Cell: 079 515 7187
