MEC applauds entrepreneur and reaffirms government’s commitment
MEC applauds entrepreneur and reaffirms government’s commitment
EASTERN Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane was impressed by the progress made by 32-year-old farmer Dumisa Magidigidi, declaring, “we cannot fail a young person who only needs an irrigation system from government”.
“We need to fully support young people who want prosperity and change the lives of their communities through job creation,” Qoboshiyane said.
“We should uplift this young man, hence I have instructed senior management to come up with a proper business plan showing how we will help this farmer and other youngsters who are keen to develop their areas through agriculture.”
The MEC was speaking during a visit to the Magidigidi homestead at Tyeni village in Maclear with the aim to “salute and encourage” Dumisa, who used his BSc Agric (animal science) degree from Fort Hare University to change his vegetable producing family business to a multi-enterprise business.
Dumisa, who boasts about producing “the leading student in agriculture” for the Joe Gqabi District since he started as a temporary teacher at Sibahle High School in 2012, says his “vision is to create an economy in a rural space, and job opportunities”.
So far, he has employed three people to help him and his siblings with the milking of their 50 dairy cows.
“I have had a passion and zeal for farming from a young age and everyone in this village knows how much I love animals.
“My main objective after I obtained my degree was not to work for anyone but to become an employer and share the agriculture knowledge I have with others,” he said.
Echoing Magidigidi’s testimony about his love for animals, Afasa farmers union provincial leader Joe Mnyengo, who lives nearby, told a story about how a young Magidigidi surprised his parents one day when he came home from school with a piglet.
“When they asked him, he said ‘I bought this with the pocket money you gave me’.
“He has followed in the footsteps of his father who was the first sustainable smallholder farmer here and was our role model,” Mnyengo said.
Magidigidi, who gave a lengthy lecture about how he understood the need to look after animals, said when he started the dairy in 2015 with only two cows, people were sceptical, saying “these cows will die but I am happy that since I opened this dairy I have never lost a single cow”.
His cows produce about 260 to 300 litres of milk daily, which supplies 11 schools through the government’s nutrition programme.
Magidigidi also has 72 “high quality” beef cattle which he keeps at a farm in Ugie, plus 35 Dormer sheep and 50 layer chickens for eggs, and he produces cabbages on a large scale.
“My vision is to have a milk processing factory where people from my village can be employed to produce various products including cheese and yoghurt.
“I am very proud to be part of rural development and it is here that I find comfort hence I want to create employment for others so that they can see the value of staying in a rural space,” he said.
The MEC said the government was committed to prioritising and uplifting young people involved in agriculture.
Cementing the government’s commitment to assist Magidigidi with an irrigation system for his pastures, the MEC invited him to his DRDAR policy speech presentation so that “I can be able to speak about your achievements and how we will help in your presence”.
The MEC said R20-million had been set aside in the 2017/18 financial year for young people in the agriculture and agro-processing industry, emphasising that the province needed young agriculture and agro-processing entrepreneurs who would take economic development forward.