Parliament’s portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development was recently in Ehlanzeni District. This was for an oversight visit that saw committee members visiting various projects in and around Mbombela.

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The visit was to assess the level of service rendered by both the national and provincial departments of agriculture to farmers. The committee was chaired by MPL, Mandla Mandela.

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Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs (Dardlea) spokesperson, Zanele Shabangu, said, “It received presentations on probing issues like the Presidential Economic Stimulus Programme, the challenges around implementing the programme, and the beneficiaries and how the programme benefitted them. The challenges around the foot-and-mouth disease, strategies to curb it from spreading, and the impact of natural disasters on agriculture and how the province is coping in terms of assisting affected farmers were also on the agenda.”