Feed donation welcome relief for 34 recipients
A group of 34 farmers from the region’s six local municipalities benefited from a handover of pig feed on Monday February 19, as part of a Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) Integrated Planning and Economic Development (IPED) programme.
The handover was done at the IPED offices by the department’s portfolio head, Nosipho Papiyana, and CHDM council chief whip, Nobantu Macingwane.
The beneficiaries included 10 farmers from Enoch Mgijima, five from Dr AB Xuma, four from Emalahleni, four from Inxuba Yethemba, five from Sakhisizwe and six from Intsika Yethu local municipalities.
Papiyana said: “It is our responsibility as CHDM to support our local municipalities.
“What we normally do is to connect to IPED departments from all our local municipalities where we support farmers from different sectors of farming.
“Today we chose to support our young farmers from rural areas who are still trying to make a name for themselves.
“We have a challenge of unemployment, especially among youth, people living with disabilities, single mothers and child-headed families that we urge the municipalities to take note of because we do not want to see them falling for drugs due to having more time on their hands.”
She said the farmers faced different challenges, such as a lack of feed for their livestock.
She said the department would also be delivering piglets to the farmers.
The farmers who benefited from the programme would also be monitored on their progress.
Another of the farmers’ challenges was trying to find a market to sell their livestock.
Ithalethu Farming and Services Co-operation member, Nombeko Mhlebi, said the operation was running smoothly.
This despite the co-operative experiencing challenges such as having tried to obtain a lease from Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality for about the past three years, and a lack of running water.
“That lease holds us back because people are not willing to invest in our business without proof of a lease agreement.
“Apart from that, we are very happy with what we got today.
“This feed will help us a lot, especially that it’s three different types of feed, for piglet, pig grower and finisher.”
Sakhisizwe farmer Siseko Mnqandi, who has 15 pigs and eight piglets said: “I am a young person and it’s great to start a business at a young age.
“To succeed in this business you need to first love animals and farming.
“This feed will play a pivotal role in my business because having no feed for your animals may lead to one looking for the nearest exit in the farming business.”
He added that receiving the feed motivated him to continue with his business, knowing that government was helping startup farmers where possible.
He encouraged the youth to venture into starting businesses to eradicate unemployment.