MEC Pieters calls on emerging farmers to graduate to commercial farming
Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Nonkqubela Pieters used the handing over of beef master cattle to livestock farmers to encourage them to graduate from being emerging farmers into commercial farming, saying this was the main reason government was supporting farmers.
"We encourage farmers to treat this not only as a hobby but as business. They must know that farming is business and they must be able to make money. They must be able to graduate from being emerging farmers to commercial farmers. That is why we are assisting them," said Pieters.
She said the department handed over 116 heifers, 16 bulls, 11 calves to farmers from Alfred Nzo, Amathole, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and Sarah Baartman.
"The type of breed that we are handing over is beef master. So, we have managed to buy only beef masters in the last financial year and we are handing that over to the farmers," she said.
Pieters said what she likes about farmers who benefited is that quite a number of people that have benefited include females and young people, saying this shows that women and young people are getting into farming business.
One of the young people who received 10 beef master heifers and 1 bull, Nosipho Vuthela, who is the chairperson of Gedlumhlanga Youth Cooperative and Farmers, and a member of Mabutho Investment, said the livestock they got from the Department will help improve their business a lot and will enable them to supply what is needed by the market.
"The livestock we got from the Department will help us to improve the production, also the quality and the quantity of the products we are supplying. The Department helped us so much. Honesty we will improve," said Vuthela.
With an agriculture diploma in animal production under her belt, Vuthela said their business, which is leasing a farm is now looking for a farm they can own so that they can expand their livestock farming. She listed stock theft as one of their major challenges that can be solved by acquiring a farm suitable for commercial livestock production.
For Phutheho Tsephe from Matatiele, now that he received his 10 heifers and 1 beef master bull, his next step is to grow his herd so that he can sell some of his steers (bulls) to the market and continue with animal production.
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"I want to raise these cows. I am going to take good care of them. I will sell them (steers) And I want my kids to have profit from them. I also want to keep them and also show government that I am able to keep them. But I don't want to sell heifers, I want to sell only the steers because I want to grow them from where they are now," said Tsephe.
Nomasakhane Maqwelane, who works with her husband and children in their farm in Amathole said the new bull they received from the Department will improve their business as they will now offer better product to the market.
"We hope that the gift we got from the government is going to make a difference and change as well. It's going to improve our business financially because we are going to get cows that come from the beef master. They (buyers) like to have beef master weaners because when we go to sell sometimes, they say this is not a good breed or this is a good breed. I believe that having this (breed), we are going to be financially free," said Maqwelane.
She said stock theft, access to water and need for fencing are some of the challenges they are experiencing in their farm which is surrounded by villages and informal settlements. Maqwelane said agriculture is not a man's business but it was all about working together like she is doing with her husband and children.
The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform spent R4.5 million procuring Beef Master cattle such as Bulls and Heifers benefiting 16 livestock farming enterprises in the Alfred Nzo (2), Amathole (9), Chris Hani (1), Joe Gqabi (3) and Sarah Baartman. When the animals were procured by the Department some of the heifers were pregnant and eleven heifers are now with calves and form part of the total herd that MEC Pieters handed over to farmers.
