Sekoati speaks to residents about economic growth

Farmers in the Mopani district are of the opinion that the farming land allocated to cooperatives and emerging black farmers by government is too small to support them, and they want “something more sustainable”.

This emerged during a breakfast session in Mokwakwaila village, Letaba, with economic development, environment and tourism MEC Seaparo Sekoati last Friday.

The meeting also included business owners and managers from the area.

The aim of the session was to find ways to improve economic development in the district and the province as a whole.

Sekoati told attendees that they needed to find ways in which to produce and process commodities around the province in order to boost the province’s economy.

He said there were about 400 000 people in Limpopo that were unable to find employment and as a result, had eventually given up job hunting.

“When a farmers have produce for sale, there should be a local firm to process it so that we avoid a situation in which produce like tomatoes are sold at fresh produce markets outside the province, and then resold to shops in the province with a mark-up on the price,” he said.

Farmers said being allocated “unsustainable land” was the main factor hindering their progress, adding that they needed to have more land before they could produce enough to reach sustainability.

“You cannot say you are a farmer when all you have is 10 hectares of land, because that is not sustainable,” Steven Mohale, a farmer from the Letaba municipality, said.

“If you were to export produce from 10 hectares, you would probably export a few crates per week, the profit of which would be too little to even pay your employees,” he explained.

Taxi owners who were present said they were unable to contribute towards the province’s economy thanks to the poor state of the roads they had to use.

Tourism in the province could not flourish without proper roads, they added. “When I started my business I had 12 employees and several taxis but now there are only two taxis left,” Sam Maluleke, owner of a taxi service and a driving school, said.

“The poor state of the roads are to blame for the accidents that occurred, in which drivers were killed and the taxis were written off,” he said.

After listening to everyone, Sekoati responded by saying he would consider all the issues raised when the department formulated its plan for the province’s way forward. “The information you have shared will help us to plan as we are always looking for ways to boost the province’s economy,” he concluded.