On this edition of Gather To Grow experts in our panel get real about the limited access to agricultural land for women in Mzansi. They also unpack why protecting our agricultural heritage is essential to economic development.
Siyabonga Vilakazi, the deputy director of the training directorate at the KwaZulu-Natal department of agriculture and rural development, says that the Mzansi school system requires a boost in terms of assistance to attract more women to the agricultural industry. He illustrates an example using the model of the Oprah School of Leadership.
“I think an interesting aspect is that of accessibility to land, you’ll find that [with] small-scale holders or subsistence farmers in the rural areas and so forth, women always struggle to access land.
Fostering agricultural heritage in Mzansi
According to Agnes Hove, director of African Women in Agriculture, one of the greatest issues facing women in agriculture in South Africa is sustainability. She points to manufacturing costs being a major problem for especially women farmers.
“Once you don’t have access to land, you don’t have access to the tools of production, facilities that will enable you to access funding, money, equipment, and everything that farmers need to enable them to succeed.”
Despite these challenges, small-scale farmers are ideally positioned to lead food security enterprises within these communities, whether rural or urban poor. This according to a research study by Geneticist, Dr Lerato Matsaunyane from the Agricultural Research Council.
Matsaunyane also points to studies indicating that of the nearly 54,000 hectares of potatoes planted in Mzansi, about 56% end up in the informal market.
“If we work tirelessly to train these smallholder farmers for them to support these rural communities and your recently termed urban poor, it will mean that we [will] be better positioned to [deliver] to the diet of those rural communities as well as the so called urban poor.”
This edition also explores the following topics:
- The lack of financing, particularly for black farmers in Mzansi;
- The adoption of new technology and mechanisation and more.
Sign up for Farmer’s Inside Track: Join our exclusive platform for new entrants into farming and agri-business, with newsletters and podcasts.
