Women are the nucleus of economic development
Women should be providers (for their families) and not rely in men for survival; these were words of encouragement to women farmers by Ngqushwa Municipality Council Chief Whip Anathi Ndikinda. Ndikinda was addressing women farmers at the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform's Amathole District Women Entrepreneur Awards. “When you get married, don’t do it because you want to be provided for by men but do so because of love. Even if the marriage doesn’t succeed you should be able to fend for yourself. Not everyone will be employed hence I urge youth to use land to change the situation and become self-employed. Agriculture has the power to change the economic landscape of the country and empowerment of women is key to achieve that,” she said.
The awards are meant to acknowledge the efforts and contributions of women in economic development and job creation through agriculture. Women were described as the nucleus of economic development in the country and should be empowered and supported to become stronger in agribusinesses. This was said by award winning farmer, No-oli Sigidi who owns more than 300 sheep in Chizele village in Dutywa, during the Women Entrepreneur Awards ceremony organised by the department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) for the Amathole District held in Ngqushwa. “Women are the nucleus of economic development and if you empower a woman you are empowering the community and the whole nation. “I’m one of the winners of this competition in 2018 despite that I farm in Chizele village hence I encourage you to be bright in the corner where you are. This is not an easy journey, let’s climb the mountain so that we can build the economy of South Africa and become exporters. We hope that this competition will strengthen us to do more ,” said Sigidi.
Sigidi, who thanked DRDAR and the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development for supporting women, urged women to forge partnership with government officials to gain more knowledge about the operations in their enterprises. In 2018 Sigidi was named the overall winner in the province but unfortunately she could not repeat the feat nationally. Page 2 of 2 AmaXhosa Queen Nondzuzo Sigcawu encouraged women to be more active in the sector because being involved in agri-business meant going back to basics. “It’s a good thing that we are going back to basics because we can see there are no jobs. At home you’ll never go hungry and the impact of unemployment will never be felt if we practice agriculture. Let’s not leave behind our children but let’s teach them while still young that agriculture is our wealth,” Sigcawu said. Sinemihlali Trading, who won in the smallholder category also won the overall, walking away with R60 000. Sinemihlali founder Thobeka Mapukata was over the moon that her efforts were recognised, adding that the award has motivated her.
“This is a surprise and I’m very happy for this achievement and it’ll motivate the youth I work with. “This achievement will add value to our commitment and I can proudly say this is an achievement of different stakeholders including DRDAR,” she said. Mapukata, who operates in Mgwali village in the Amahlathi Local Municipality, said the enterprise was producing tomatoes in two tunnels and their produce is sold to retail stores in Stutterheim. The provincial leg of the awards will be held in Qumbu and winners of the districts will compete for top honors and go to represent the province nationally. Other winners included Sinazo Jonase of Jubilee Chicken Farm in the famale worker category and Eve Ndabakazi Coop in subsistence farming.
For more information please contact:
Mr Thozi Manyisana
Cell: 082 494 3600
Thobeka Mapukata
Cell: 082 712 7199 or 063 483 7873
