Government’s efforts of empowering rural women through agriculture have started to yield positive results in Limpopo, where women in the district of Mopani are taking the bull by its horns as far as commercial farming is concerned.
A visit to the district by Ms Lulu Xingwana, Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities, revealed a growing number of independent black rural women who have made successful use of the farms they acquired through government’s land reform programme.
As a part of the programme of the National Rural Women’s Summit held in Tzaneen, in Mopani District from 13 to 14 May, Minister Xingwana took a tour of five commercial farms and development projects owned by black women and women with disabilities in Limpopo.
All of the farms are fully operational and have commercial markets where their products are sold, including export to other countries. The largest of the farms covers more than 400 hectares of land north east of Tzaneen. In this farm, known as Ditubatse, a total of 130 farm workers are employed, including 90 permanent employees.
The farm produces mango, guava, avocadoes and litchis. The mangoes are processed to manufacture achar with great expertise. The achar gets packaged, branded and eventually sold to retailers. While guavas are supplied to commercial fruit juice makers at a profit, the litchis are exported to foreign countries in Africa and Europe.
Speaking after her farm tour, Minister Xingwana said these successful farms demonstrate the extent of progress made in facilitating rural development, “Women constitute the majority of people living in rural areas and they should therefore be the largest number of beneficiaries in the country’s rural development program,” she said.
The aim of the summit, attended by representatives of women’s organisations involved in rural development in all provinces, was for government to hear the concerns that rural women face in their effort to eradicate poverty and attain development in rural areas.
Joyce Mashamba, Limpopo MEC for sport, arts and culture, encouraged rural women to form cooperatives to intensify the fight against poverty, “Rural women are strong mentally and spiritually, they just need assistance to enable them to stand on their own,” she said.
Alinah Helani (54), who owns a farm that produces 40,000 chickens per month, said she would not have reached the milestones had it not been for government’s land redistribution and agricultural support programmes. Her farm, known as Nguvamuni, also produces mango and a variety of vegetables that are sold to the commercial market in the Limpopo province. The farm occupies 191 hectares of land.
Giving the bold indication yet that government aims to empower more women to achieve similar proportions of hard work and success, Minister Xingwana said more support systems are needed to enable rural women to achieve productive and profitable farming, “To achieve development of rural women, we have to strengthen efforts that promote collaboration between communities, civil society, the three spheres of government and the private sector,” said Minister Xingwana.
Source: Department of Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities
Women commercial farmers emerge in Limpopo
