Women are making a dent in the fight against poverty through farming, said KwaZulu-Natal MEC for agriculture and rural development Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi at the launch of a 100% black female-owned feedlot in Franklin, near Kokstad.
Sithole-Moloi said the launch of Tsar Beef Farm affirms the fact that women have the power to change their situations.
Lindokuhle Ngubane took over the farm in 2015 and started farming with just a few livestock and one employee. Five years later, the farm boasts 120 cows, eight bulls, 60 sheep, 100 weaners and seven full-time employees.
This was made possible by the investment of R4 million from the Agribusiness Development Agency (ADA) and the province’s department of agriculture and rural development’s technical and veterinary support, which ensured the sustainability of 1700 hectares of land with timber, grazing and grain production, as initial activities.
Sithole-Moloi said the rise of passionate young women like Ngubane deepens the clarion call for land to be allocated to women as a matter of urgency. “Women of Ngubane’s fortitude are an undeniable evidence that women deserve to be allocated land as a solution for a transformed agricultural sector and poverty-free province.”
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The Sunday Tribune reports that Ngubane was grateful for the investment she received which enabled her to buy all the necessary equipment. “We managed to build a feed lot, we bought production stock as a start-up. This has enabled us to multiply our production and we hope to achieve more and assist other people,” she said.
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