MEC launches Alice land care project
A UNITED Nations-funded land care project was launched at Sompondo Village outside Alice by agriculture MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane yesterday.
The R964 000 will assist the community to fence more than 200 hectares of grazing land.
The area has a lot of stray animals which are a road hazard, said Qoboshiyane.
Some of the funding will go towards reducing soil erosion and the protecting of wetlands.
Qoboshiyane’s department of rural development and agrarian reform (DRDAR) together with the Department of Forestry and Fisheries (Daff) donated a further R950 000 to the Sompondo Land Care Project for land and vegetation conservation, including protecting wetlands, but also to theft.
The Sompondo Village community, with help from a local farming group, the National Emerging Vegetable Growers Organisation, applied for funding from the UN stop rampant livestock to conserve land and vegetation in their area.
Uncontrolled livestock movements had led to unprecedented surface erosion, with huge tracks of land having been invaded by black wattle, said Qoboshiyane.
Speaking at the event, Qoboshiyane said: “Out of the budget of R11.8-million, we have set aside R950 000 to help fence the grazing camps, to ensure that during the grazing period, camps are not depleted and leaving livestock with nothing to graze on.
“We also gave training to make sure that they have this skill to help them for future purposes. As a department, we are encouraged to see partnerships between communities which will ensure that the future generations have food going forward.”
Already, 212ha have been fenced in the area, and 482ha more will be fenced in the 2017-18 financial year with funds received from DRDAR and Daff.
The area, which is under the Amathole District Municipality’s jurisdiction, is one of the hardest hit by the drought which has plagued the area in recent years.
To remedy the situation, the project fenced some parts of the area’s grazing land for equal rationing to ensure that their livestock has sufficient food.
The total budget for the project’s veld care project is R612 000 for the 2017-18 financial year, with about R480 000 of that having been set aside for the fencing of 482ha in the same financial year.
Qoboshiyane said further investments into the project will see it being turned into a worldclass facility which will breed high-quality livestock which can be sold at premium prices.