New body set to assist Bay farmers

Aim is to empower, develop producers

ANEW non-profit organisation aimed at facilitating agricultural and economic development for farmers in Nelson Mandela Bay was launched in Uitenhage yesterday.

The launch of the Nelson Mandela Bay African Farmers Association (NMBAFA) saw stakeholders from various bodies, including the municipality and the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, come together to establish the lobby group.

Its main objective is to empower and develop farmers to facilitate world-class commercial farming in the metro.

The secretary of the task team and steering committee assigned to mitigate the establishment of the association, Duma Tose, said the launch would foster a new and better way for farmers to communicate with local government and establish themselves as capable of producing goods for economic purposes.

“[The NMBAFA] is about empowerment. It is not politically affiliated and is a way to bring everybody together,” he said.

“It is a structured organisation able to deal with any and all problems urban farmers face.”

Issues and concerns which local farmers faced were not the same as commercial farmers and the association was a way to facilitate the empowerment of those farming in the metro.

“Agriculture is definitely a component of the metro and we want to establish programmes to create greenhouses, develop agriculture, offer training and assist in acquiring smallholdings for people who want to farm,” Tose said.

With a background in chemical engineering, Tose owns a smallholding which he once intended to use to grow garlic to sell to companies such as Aspen for medicinal purposes.

“Unfortunately it [the smallholding] is now a white elephant [but] with this association it could be developed,” he said.

The western district director of the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Thembani Nyokana, said his department supported the association and he looked forward to seeing what it could bring to the development of farming in the metro.

“Having this association makes it easier for the government to deliver services and communicate with farmers in the metro,” he said.

Nyokana said urban agriculture, in terms of growing crops, was relevant and needed in urban areas.

He added that the processing of crops should be a focus.

“If there is more focus and more energy is put into agricultural processing, that will help create more job opportunities,” he said.

Mayoral spokesman Sibongile Dimbaza said the municipality welcomed the launch of the association, saying it would create a platform for ease of engagement.

“It removes the frustrations that come with dealing with individuals,” he said, adding that the municipality looked forward to “fruitful engagements with the newly formed structure”.

“We hope that it will address any challenges within the farming sector and unlock growth opportunities for metro communities,” he said.