MEC Mohono announced various programmes to empower farmers in all four districts of the province in her Departmental Budget Vote on Thursday, 25 May 2023.
She declared that during the current financial year, her Department would launch the mentorship program in partnership with the Agricultural Commodities and Breeders Association. The six (6) agricultural products that are in line with the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) will be included in the program, along with agriculture, for a period of twelve (12) months.
“A partnership with the National Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), Agricultural Research Council, and the North-West University will see a total of 2 500 farmers being empowered through farmer training and capacity building during the 2023/24 financial year,” said MEC Desbo Mohono.
As part of the collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, the Kgora Farmer Training Centre is now providing training to a total of forty-five (45) young farmers who are taking part in the National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) programme. MEC Mohono also emphasised that during the 2023/24 financial year, the Department would revive and support designated groups like Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (WARD) and Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development (YARD).
"Both local and provincial structures of Youth in Agriculture and Rural Development (YARD) and Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (WARD) will be launched in June and August this year, respectively. The two formations were part of the National Agricultural Marketing Expo (NAMPO) this month, and the Department ensured its full support for them to become part of this prime agricultural expo," said MEC Mohono.
In response to the current high unemployment rate revealed by Statistics South Africa, MEC Mohono has committed the Department to employ one hundred and twenty (120) unemployed graduates through its Unemployed Agricultural Graduate Programme to reduce unemployment in the province. The Department has launched the Unemployed Agricultural Graduate Programme as one of its programmes to protect young people from the alarming unemployment rates. The programme's beneficiaries will be placed on sixty-four (64) farms across the province's four districts.
Katlego Moshosho (22), a Farming Management student at Taletso TVET College, said that the programmes would be helpful to the graduates since they focus more on theory than practicals and help curb the unemployment of the farming graduates. As a student of farming management at Taletso TVET College, we occasionally lack more knowledge about the agricultural sectors because we focus more on theory than practicals. As a result, the mentoring programmes will benefit agricultural graduates and students in TVETs and Universities since they will obtain a deeper understanding of the industry. Additionally, it will let students get a taste of the agricultural atmosphere," said Moshosho.
"The unemployment rate for agricultural graduates is rising by excessive percentages yearly, which does not help the agricultural sector's reputation. Because there are few prospects in the agricultural industry, some graduates of that field choose to apply to other fields. Thus, I believe it is advantageous for graduates of this programme to receive a summative evaluation. This will make it easier for provincial agricultural graduates to take advantage of the programme," she concluded.
