Programme Director
Honourable Members of the Limpopo Legislature
Acting Head of Department Professor Nesamvuni
General Manager Development Planning Mr David Nkoana
Senior management team of the department
Our most important guests, farmer representatives and farmers
Representatives from various institutions
Media
Ladies and gentlemen
There is a saying in Chinese that says; “A person who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person doing it.” We are gathered here today as stakeholders in the farming business because you have heard the call to this Indaba/Imbizo/Kgoro or Tshivhidzo. We are here because we have a passion for farming. You are here because you heard that there is a new MEC who has a passion to assist farmers in their quest to quench the hunger of our people.
We have said when we invited you that, as a department, we are seeking ways in which food security and job creation could be achieved to improve the lives of our people. Here today, we have invited the backbone of the nation, you the farmers, who should feed the nation. We do know that you the ability, and we have the capacity, only if, together we can pull the same direction.
Programme Director, I am glad because here today is gathered a cream of leaders that will not mislead us, a crop of farm pioneers that will genuinely tell us how ugly we are. We need you here and now, to tell us where we have gone wrong and how we can mend that. There is a philosophy that says, if you tell a challenge, come with a solution. There is a saying that goes, “keep your friends close, but your enemies more closely”. I do not believe for once, that our relationship will be like this quote and saying.
By the time we get out of here, I believe we will have thrashed out issues that make it impossible for projects like Tshiombo or Makgobaskloof not to function. We will have addressed ways of bringing in those who claim to be our mentors whereas they are only interested in their own ways and means.
We will have discovered that which brings us more closely, than that which sets us apart. As we celebrate 20 years of the unbanning of political movements and the release of our father figure, Nelson Mandela from prison, we should know that food security is not only a buzz word of the ruling party, but a reality we can no longer do without. We should know that we can postpone this meeting, and decide to do resolutions another day, but we cannot postpone hunger from our people. History will judge us harshly if we do not do the right thing. We dare not fail this nation.
Programme Director, I am therefore challenging this gathering, that whoever goes out of that door without reconciling that which we need to do, will be the enemy of our people forever. Whoever thinks that their challenges are better than those of the others will be judged harshly by that which will befall us. We cannot afford as a province, people who will march to government offices to demand rain, whereas they know very well that rain comes from God.
In conclusion, I want us to picture it this way, I am today the man, you are the woman, and I am proposing to you, and your initial question is what is he bringing to the table? Can he afford the cattle? Or is he a good man or what? It is no secret that we want us, collectively to:
* Seek ways in which food security and job creation could be achieved
* Improve the relations that we have; e.g. is there good communication between us, do we know the enabling policies and documents on agriculture?
* Resuscitate farms that lie fallow
* Seek ways to improve production in the sector as a whole
* To make sure Limpopo is again the food basket of the country and many other things.
At the end of today, we shall have resolutions that clearly set the road ahead. I have told Professor Nesamvuni and his team that we are not leaving here without clear programmes of action. We should know how often we are going to meet with each sector throughout the season.
And I again reiterate that it is my fervent passion to see the agriculture sector grow in leaps and bounds. Whether there is drought or floods, disease or large productions, we are no longer going to do things without thorough consultations. On the other hand, let us not exploit this friendship, but nurture it passionately like a man who takes care of his woman. I ndlovu ya hina. Ndi ndou yashu, Ke tlou ya rena, dit is ons elefant!! Let’s tackle it.
Issued by: Department of Agriculture, Limpopo Provincial Government
9 February 2010
Source: Department of Agriculture, Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.lda.gov.za/)
