The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) last night scooped the Certificate of Excellence in the Government Department Award category at the prestigious Standard Bank Top Women Awards, held at Emperor’s Palace in Johannesburg. The award was presented to DAFF “for an outstanding achievement in this category and for contributing to Human Resources Management through strategies and practices directly impacting business performance and innovation”.
The award is presented to the government department that clearly and effectively demonstrates the highest level of gender empowerment, from staff to suppliers, through its programmes and policies. The award recognises government departments for outstanding service delivery which has resulted in substantial accomplishments through providing services to disadvantaged South Africans.
As part of DAFF’s strategic objectives and goals, the promotion of women empowerment and gender equality through its policies and programmes has always been a priority. DAFF has implemented various internal training programmes that have successfully equipped 1 166 women employees with requisite skills from developmental programmes and short courses to management courses. This accounts for 20% of the total staff capacity.
The department has also provided women with sector training programmes which include internships, internal and external bursaries and learnerships, among others. DAFF is proud of its Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) which empowered 1 609 women and equipped them with farmer training through the National Skills Fund (NSF), where 949 women were supported. In total, the department has supported 2 976 women through various sector training programmes.
In achieving employment equity goals, the department has set a target of employing 52% women and 2% personnel with disabilities. Progress on these employment equity targets to-date demonstrates that the department has increased the number of women employees to 46% and employees with disabilities to 1,02%.
The department has a vast knowledge base with skilled and dedicated researchers, scientists, engineers, technicians, managers and practitioners across different fields and highly qualified branches, some of which are headed by women who are recognised among the best in the world in various fields and who participate on important international platforms such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), among others.
Through its programmes like the DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards (DAFF FEA), the department will continue to strive to achieve gender equality and promote women development and empowerment. Furthermore, in ensuring food security, economic advancement and transformation, the department is committed to servicing the numerous disadvantaged communities of South Africa.
For further information please contact:
Makenosi Maroo
Chief Director: Communication Services
Tel: 012 319 6787
Cell: 072 475 2956
E-mail: MakenosiM@daff.gov.za
Jamela Nkanyane
Communication Services
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Tel: 012 319 6903
E-mail: JamelaN@daff.gov.za
