MEC Nqatha supports urban agriculture

Commitment and willingness paid off for the youth of Duncan Village , when the MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) Xolile Nqatha visited the area to donate much-needed gardening tools and inputs to youths in the township. Two youth projects Phantsi Kwelanga co-operative and Ward 2 Multipurpose co-operative who have been producing vegetables from small pieces of land, proved that hardwork pays off when the MEC responded to their plight. “With this initiative we are set on changing urban mentality regarding agriculture. This area is poverty stricken therefore encouraging youth to be more involved in agriculture is the way to eradicate poverty and attempt to remove the youth from the streets that are riddled with crime and drugs.”, said MEC Nqatha. DRDAR is committed in ensuring that it invests available resources in its bid it make to attract the youth to the lucrative agriculture sector and the MEC was responding to the needs of the two youth project after he had visited them earlier in the year. The department has a five-year plan that will ensure youth is supported with infrastructure development, skills development and inputs as well as access to the markets so that their business can generate income that will enhance job creation and efforts to fight poverty. Both chairpersons of the projects – Xolile Mgudlene from Ward 2 Multipurpose co-operative and Mr Mabhakela from Phantsi Kwelanga Co-operative expressed their “great gratitude” for the support they received from DRDAR. MEC Nqatha encouraged the youth to produce in large scale so that they can be able to be sustainable agri-business people who are capable of employing other young people. The equipment received included two water tanks, six hoes, one Knapsack sprayer, two sprinklers, five garden handsets, three wheelbarrows, four watering cans, four rakes and four spades for each project. Each project received 400 cabbage seedlings, spinach, green pepper, beetroot, turnips and 40 bags of potatoes for each project. DRDAR Buffalo City Metro Metro deputy director for extension and advisory services Terry Ntantiso, told the co-operatives that “our doors are always open to provide technical support The visits form part of government’s #Thuma Mina campaign and two projects are not the only youth projects benefiting from as more projects are set to be visited by the MEC in the Amathole district and other districts.