Traditional leaders are willing to release land for agricultural purposes as long as there is community development to end unemployment and drive forward the rural economy. This is according to inkosi Sifiso Shinga of the KwaZulu-Natal House of Traditional and Khoi-San leaders, who have called for partnerships on food production.
In an interview with Food For Mzansi, Shinga said land is available, however, lack of skills and capacity building is lacking in KwaZulu-Natal. Shinga unpacks his views on rural development and the impact of high input costs, and the KZN floods on the rural economy.
Tiisetso Manoko: What barriers do rural communities face in producing food?
Inkosi Sifiso Shinga: Our province is fortunate that it is able to produce a number of commodities. We are climate-friendly and our soil is fertile for many crops to grow. The only thing that is lacking is skills, our people do not have the proper skills to farm.
That is why we are calling on the public and private institutions to come to the party because with skills our people would be able to make things possible. As chiefs [inkosis], we are more than ready to avail the land. We want to see the province fully feeding itself and feeding the entire country.
Huge portions of land are available, we are willing to dispose of it for development. We are faced with poverty and unemployment as inkosis and we cannot fold our arms. We need to reach out to stakeholders to make rural development for our communities a reality.
How is this message being driven by traditional leaders on the ground?
It is very important to acknowledge that rural development and agriculture, especially in our rural province, are critical. Looking at where we reside, there is land and agriculture is the primary business for our people.
So we are looking at initiatives that will make a difference in the lives of the people who rely solely on agriculture as a business, as well as those who are just farming to put food on the table for their families and communities.
Has agriculture in the province improved since recent disasters?
The July riots [in 2021], load shedding and recent floods indeed had an impact, especially the floods. Then load shedding added salt to the wounds because now it is an everyday thing.
We know that some farmers are using power to operate their machines which the rolling blackouts are impacting. Poultry farmers and agro-processors are especially affected.
In terms of floods, we have seen that some of the farmers have closed businesses because of the damage to the soil and infrastructure that made it impossible to continue farming.
KZN has a new agriculture leadership. Any expectations from the house of traditional and Khoi-San leaders?
We are hoping for a lot from the new KwaZulu-Natal department of agriculture and rural development, MEC Super Zuma, especially when it comes to development. We will engage with him soon and possibly see the fruits of our relationship in the future.
The agriculture department needs to work hard to alleviate hunger in our province and we believe they have the capabilities to do that. Our responsibility is to support them with rural development projects that they will be bringing to our people.
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In the name of rural development, what steps should be taken in KwaZulu-Natal?
Costs of operating a farm include fertilisers, diesel, and other inputs. These are all expensive, and we need the department to step in and assist those farmers. We cannot do agriculture without young people, we need to involve them in agriculture as much as possible to reduce unemployment among the youth.
There are lots of youngsters who have gone to school but are not interested. However, they can find a place using agri-technology. I want to see the youth of KwaZulu-Natal entering that space.
Technology and innovation in agriculture should be led by young people as they are more techno-savvy than elders.
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