The KwaZulu-Natal government has declared war against the widespread poverty engulfing the Province.
The state of poverty stricken households and communities, particularly those in rural areas, were the primary focus of the provincial leadership during the launch of the Provincial Multi-Planting Season.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli said the provincial Department of Agriculture under the leadership of the MEC Thembeni KaMadlopha-Mthethwa will bring forth an agricultural revolution and ensure that the whole province becomes green.
“We are envisioning a green province with crops and vegetables. The farms that are lying fallow and underutilized, must be brought back to full operation.”
Ntuli was addressing thousands of people in the uMzinyathi District gathered at uMsinga’s Solomon Linda Sportsfield on Tuesday, October 15.
The Premier’s sentiments were echoed by MEC kaMadlopha-Mthethwa who said that the success of the Multi-Planting Season will be measured by the visibility of greenery in KwaZulu-Natal.
“If we don’t see green vegetables and crops along our highways, we would have failed the people of the province,” she said.
The premier and MEC introduced new farming techniques to boost and enhance food security in the province.
Ntuli emphasised the importance of extension officers working hand in hand with communities to enable a better flow of agricultural activities.
“Extension and veterinary services need to work hand in hand with our communities so that they enhance primary animal healthcare, animal productivity and animal husbandry,” he said.
The department said that schools in uMsinga and surrounding areas were also prioritised and were the beneficiaries of 1000 seed packs including maize, beans and vegetables.
About 50 hectares of land was cultivated under the mechanisation programme for beneficiary, Gwamanda farming.
This, said the department, was coupled with the distribution of 150 bags of 50kg base fertilizer and 75 of 50kg of top dressing fertilizer.
Keeping in line with the message of bringing agriculture to the people to curb poverty, Ntuli called on communal cattle farmers to ensure their cattle does not roam freely outside of pasturelands.
“The cattle that roam around our communities discourage our people from planting because their produce is eaten by these cows and other livestock. Let’s ensure that the cattle stay in the pasturelands.”
The department said that according to the Human Sciences Research Council, 17 percent of the province’s households suffer from food insecurity while 4.3 percent suffer from food hunger.
The department says these alarming numbers are key drivers of the urgency in which they need to work to address food insecurity and poverty.
KaMadlopha-Mthethwa signaled the importance of using evidence-based research outcomes to bring about community development and farmer support.
“The report revealed that there are people in KwaZulu-Natal who go to bed without any food in their stomachs, that’s why we have decided to focus mainly on those communities, more especially in uMzinyathi, Zululand, and Harry Gwala. According to the evidence based research outcomes, these districts were found to have a vast amount of land, yet it’s not properly used for planting purposes. Hence, the multi-planting season this year focused on the poorest of the poor. A clarion call is made for the farming communities to begin planting in earnest,” said kaMadlopha-Mthethwa.
