Rural youth can live dream to farm, award-winner says

THE winner of a Youth in Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (Yaff) award, Mlungisi Bushula wants the youth to let go of their “if only syndrome” and on depending on government for employment to take part in agriculture.

The 30-year-old Bushula won the Yaff small-scale forestry recognition award in June for his work as the director of the Gretfontein farm, SA Fine Tuned Trading (Pty) Ltd in Stutterheim.

The inherited farm covers about 350ha of land and is mainly a forestry-based enterprise which focuses on timber growing, harvesting, procurement, rehabilitation and conversions of wattle jungles into commercial plantation.

“When I started, the farm was in poor condition with no hope and I didn’t have knowledge about the value of forestry in farming but only wished to honour my grandfather Mandlakapheli San Sithetho,” he said.

Bushula said the agricultural industry could create scores of jobs.

However, due to a lack of resources in rural areas, Bushula said many people moved to urban areas in search of greener pastures, while “leaving gold” behind, as many hectares of land were under-utilised.

“My vision is to be a leading contributor to the rural development of Eastern Cape residents and influence their perceptions towards farming,” he said.

Bushula said farmers must first utilise their little resources well to perfect their skills in order to compete in the commercial sector later.

The avid farmer however, warned that farming required hard work and dedication.

“The youth who are without resources should not only depend on government.

“They can also consult their tribal authorities for land allocations and start manageable productive strategies as there are bare lands that are under-utilised in the province,” Bushula said.