AGDA TO HELP EMERGING FARMERS WITH FUNDING

THE AGRICULTURE Development Agency (Agda) was officially launched yesterday to provide funding to emerging farmers and to transfer skills to them so that they become successful commercial farmers. Agda, a non-profit organisation, had a variety of support services to offer emerging farmers, aimed to be up and running in September, said Leona Archary, the acting chief executive of Agda. “One of the biggest challenges government is facing, specifically with land reform programmes, is support to farmers who have acquired land, not just financial support, but with technical and business skills, and assistance in getting access to markets,” she said. Agda is part of the Public Private Growth Initiative established in 2018 under the leadership of Dr Johan van Zyl, the chief executive and president of Toyota in Europe. The aim is to align strategic planning between the government and the private sector, in the interest of improving economic growth and the manner in which government and business work together. Roelf Meyer of the In Transformation Initiative, which is one of the main drivers of this project, said: “The ultimate aim is to use our land profitably. That is why we have had extensive discussions so that by a process of consultation we could come up with this membership organisation that is a private sector initiative, but where we consult with government.”