DRDAR EMPOWERS YOUTH IN AGRICULTURE

The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is biased towards youth empowerment and development as such it has focused on the development of CCS Vets, animal technicians unemployed graduates, and youth farming enterprises. This, putting an emphasis on agriculture as a career of choice and also treating agriculture as a person aligning to the Department’s Agriculture Economic Transformation Strategy. Over the term the Department has invested millions on youth empowerment, through providing agricultural inputs to youth owned farming enterprises and offering training to graduates. In the 2018/19 financial year the department took in graduates from Fort Cox and the Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute on a 24-month contract. The graduates are qualified animal health technicians. The placement of the unemployed graduates is a programme initiated and funded by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) as a mechanism to attract and promote this sector amongst young people. The graduates will be given support towards the establishment of youth owned and managed agriculture enterprises to encourage active participation of youth in the sector. The graduates will be assisted to develop bankable business plans to implement envisaged enterprise and be linked to government support programme relating to their chosen enterprises and other potential funders. “This is one of the most important foundations and pillars to our provincial Agriculture Economic Transformation Strategy. You have now demonstrated that the notion of the threat of a dying agriculture sector because of ageing farmers and that the sector is not attractive to young people can be changed,” Nqatha said. “I am exceptionally pleased that we have young people who are part of a generation that has decided to shun all misconceptions about agriculture being a trade of elderly people. This gives me hope that the future of this country as far as agriculture is concerned is very bright,” he said. The Department has also worked with GrainSA and Wiphold who provided support to emerging crop farmers in the Joe Gqabi, Alfred Nzo, Amathole and OR Tambo District. This benefitted 5000 farmers including 350 youths and 2430 women. Both partners created job opportunities for unemployed graduates who also received on the job training. Some of the graduates have now become mentors and offer training to farmers. Furthermore, the Department also established the Rural Wealth Creation Centre at Fort Cox to incubate youth and graduates into agricultural entrepreneurs. More than 100 unemployed youths from villages around the institute were organised into cooperatives and trained in broiler, layer and seedling production.