Smallholder farmers benefit from national programme

Sekororo farmers, a participant in the Lima Smallholder Farmer Support Programme, have seen their farming enterprises being transformed overnight as the programme has reportedly helped them access markets and generate employment.
The National Treasury’s Jobs Fund partnered with the Lima Rural Development Foundation to support smallholder farmers in 22 sites across the country and Sekororo, in the Trichardtsdal area, is one of the places benefiting from the collaboration.
It was reported that the fund has made a grant support investment of R60 million to the programme to enhance job creation and provide tangible benefits to farmers.
Among the Sekororo farmers benefiting from the programme is retired school principal turned poultry farmer, Khensani Mboweni. She currently employs seven people, three of whom permanently, and supplies chickens to a reliable market that includes local residents and shisanyamas
A statement made available to Polokwane Observer quoted Mboweni to have said: “I started poultry farming as a backyard project in 2009 producing between 200 and 250 chickens. As time went on, the community needed more chickens so I built two extra houses for broilers and egg layers. I am currently producing about 3 100 chickens. I joined the Lima programme after retiring in 2017 and I have since received three production loans from them,” Mboweni explained.
Another female farmer and retired educator, Lucy Hutamo practices irrigated crop farming on seven hectares of land and was first assisted by Lima in April 2017 to access fertilisers and chemicals to spray her crops. According to information she employs five permanent workers and supplies baby marrows, green pepper, eggplants, watermelons and tomatoes to food markets in Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Durban.
“I went to Lima to ask for assistance because I was not successful at farming due to lack of expertise and funding.”
“They gave me technical advice and extended two loans that helped me buy chemicals and seeds. Since then, we have developed a relationship with Lima that has led to a huge improvement in our business. We used to produce 100 crates of vegetables but now we produce between 300 and 400 crates,” Hutamo reportedly said.
Lima’s national programme manager Lynette Parsons said “At Sekororo we have created about 200 jobs through the production of cabbages and butternuts. We have also created an agri-hub in the area to supply farmers with feeds, fertilisers, seeds and medication. We have about 800 farmers who are serviced by the agri-hub. It does not only provide loans and technical advice but also links farmers to formal markets.”
Parsons further stated that Lima was adding a pack house to the Sekororo project where fresh produce from all farmers participating in the project will be aggregated, packaged and delivered to customers.

Story: ENDY SENYATSI
>>endy@observer.co.za