The empowerment of women took centre stage at the Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform (DRDAR) Amathole District Women Entrepreneur Awards.
Ngqushwa Municipality Council chief whip Anathi Ndikinda said women should be providers and not rely on men for survival.
“When you get married, don’t do it because you want to be provided for by men but do so because of love. Even if the marriage doesn’t succeed, you should be able to fend for yourself. Not everyone will be employed hence I urge youth to use the land to change the situation and become self-employed. Agriculture has the power to change the country’s economic landscape and empowerment of women is key to achieving that,” she said.
The awards acknowledge the efforts and contributions of women in economic development and job creation through agriculture.
The ‘nucleus’ of economic development
No-oli Sigidi, who owns more than 300 sheep in Chizele village in Dutywa, described women as the nucleus of economic development in the country and that they should be supported to become stronger in agribusiness.
“Women are the nucleus of economic development; if you empower a woman, you are empowering the community and the whole nation.
“I was one of the winners of this competition in 2018 even though I farm in Chizele village. And that’s why I encourage you to be bright in the corner where you are. This is not an easy journey, let’s climb the mountain so that we can build the economy of South Africa and become exporters. We hope that this competition will strengthen us to do more,” said Sigidi.
In 2018 Sigidi was named the overall winner in the province but unfortunately, she could not repeat the feat nationally.
She urged women to forge partnerships with government officials to gain more knowledge about the operations of their enterprises.
‘Agriculture is our wealth’
AmaXhosa queen Nondzuzo Sigcawu encouraged women to be more active in the sector.
“It’s a good thing that we are going back to basics because we can see there are no jobs. At home, you’ll never go hungry and the impact of unemployment will never be felt if we practice agriculture. Let’s not leave behind our children but let’s teach them while still young that agriculture is our wealth,” Sigcawu said.
Sinemihlali Trading, who won in the smallholder category, also won the overall competition and walked away with R60 000.
“This is a surprise and I’m very happy for this achievement and it’ll motivate the youth I work with. This achievement will add value to our commitment, and I can proudly say this is an achievement of different stakeholders including DRDAR,” said Thobeka Mapukata, the founder of Siemihlali Trading.
Mapukata, who operates in Mgwali village in the Amahlathi Local Municipality, said the enterprise was producing tomatoes in two tunnels and their produce is sold to retail stores in Stutterheim.
National honours at stake
The provincial leg of the awards will be held in Qumbu and winners of the districts will compete for top honours and represent the province nationally.
Other winners included Sinazo Jonase of Jubilee Chicken Farm in the female worker category, and Eve Ndabakazi Coop in subsistence farming.
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