Programme director
Research partners
Farmers
Ladies and gentlemen
While we have more than 240 000 subsistence farmers trying to make a living off the land with very little and inconsistent rainfall and ploughing sandy soils, we know that it is 5 000 commercial farmers who grow the bulk of the fresh produce in Mpumalanga province, using the high or medium potential agricultural soil, that the province has to offer.
But we know that commercial food growing alone, do not ensure food security for ordinary homes and local communities. And because we know that our people cannot afford the high food prices that result from commercial food production, we need to support emerging and subsistence farmers as they grow food for their homes and for local communities.
Agriculture is the spring board for development and we therefore need to continuously support research that will ensure that we make the best of the marginal soil and grow crops that will survive with little rain, because that is what our people need to deal with when they plough their land and grow their crops.
As government we have put rural development and food security on our priority agenda because we realise that for the country to experience inclusive growth, we need to ensure rural development and we need to produce enough food. But this vision cannot be realised if we don’t do the research that will inform our actions on which crops to grow. Research provides the background information on the current market prices for crops and which crops we are able to grow, given our limited land, water and other resources.
Through our Masibuyel’ Emasimini programme, government supports farmers by providing implements, seeds, and tractors. Storage facilities, cattle dips and small irrigation schemes are part of the support provided, while training in rain-water harvesting and the recycling of domestic water are ongoing. In this way, the department is making strides in increasing access to food. Neighboring households are now beginning to support one another, as some households are growing vegetables and fruit in excess of what they need and are able to share with less successful neighbours.
Farm income for certain communities are also beginning to increase as a result of crop sales, while more than jobs have being created. Communities are benefitting from an intense skills programme in order to allow for skills in agri-marketing, tractor operating, tractor maintenance and cultivation.
Another major programme of the department is the Comprehensive Rural Development Programme. This intervention comes as government realises that despite the implementation of many state driven agricultural programmes, a huge gap still exists in rural communities where there is poor infrastructure such as roads, water supply, transportation, rural markets, electrification, communication, and water management services.
In partnership with sister government departments, the Mpumlanga Department of Agriculture, Land Administration and Rural Development leads rural development by identifying where government departments need to deliver basic services urgently.
We can be proud that research in Mpumalanga province produced improved, locally adapted crop varieties and better techniques for growing crops such as groundnuts, cowpeas, cassava, etc. grown by these farmers. I am glad to note our research unit is collaborating closely with several national universities, in assisting student in their post- graduate studies and Agricultural Research Council of South Africa (ARC) institutes in technology development.
Ladies and gentlemen, we need to ensure that the research that we undertake can be used practically by the more than 240 000 emerging and subsistence farmers that we serve. I urge the DARDLA extension and agric advisors to take these improved technologies to the small and subsistence farmers, so that the Masibuyel; Emasimini and other DARDLA programmes can reach its full potential.
Ngiyabonga.
Source: Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration
