Farmers given a platform to interact with Deputy Minister General Bheki Cele
Farmers in Francis Baard Region in the Northern Cape will interact with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries General Bheki Cele, as part of the National Imbizo Focus Week. Four Local Municipalities in the Francis Baard District Municipality were hit the hardest by drought conditions for almost three years.
As part of his interaction with farmers, the Deputy Minister will meet VH1 Farmers, Ganspan Large stock farmers and Subsistence Farming as well as the Iphemeleng Community Property Association to listen to the farmer’s challenges and offer drought relief interventions. Two households in Bonita Park will receive garden tools and seeds and further be aided with starting vegetable gardens. An overnight reservoir envisioned for aquaculture farming has been built for the Iphemeleng Community Property Association. The reservoir gets water supply from the Vaalharts/Taung Irrigation Scheme. The scheme is the largest irrigated water scheme in South Africa, with approximately 35 300 ha of land under irrigation.
Details of the event:
Date: 18 April 2016
Project visits
Time: 09h30
Project 1: VH1 Farm
Project 2: Iphemeleng Community Property Association
Household visits
Bonita Park: 10h00
Main event: 11h00
Venue: Bonita Park Stadium, Phokwane Local Municipality, Northern Cape Province
To RSVP for accreditation please contact Rony Moremi on 073 347 0391 or Ali Diteme on 083 452 9851.
Transport for media is available on request.
For further information and requests for interviews, contact:
Nonkululeko Mbatha
Cell: 083 645 6252
Email: NonkululekoM@daff.gov.za
