The farmers of Umzimkhulu, a rural area on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, have again benefited significantly from the efforts of the University’s Department of Agriculture. In February this year, project leader Dr Helen Mapeka, one of the few registered female reproductive operators in the country, and members of CEAD went to Umzimkhulu to continue an empowerment project called Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). As a continuation of the project, the Department of Agriculture and its external stakeholders – the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture, the Agriculture Research Council (ARC), the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), and local farmers’ associations took part in Farmers’ Day at the Esayidi TVET in the area. One of the highlights of the event was when Dr Mapeka, and Dr Jabulani Ngcobo, a Lecturer at TUT, told the local farmers how they could increase the quality and quantity of their cattle and sheep production by streamlining the production of their animals. Dr Mapeka demonstrated how ART could be used to control the reproduction of the farmers’ animals.
Dr Ngcobo, a MUT graduate, said the timing of the reproduction was important. He said that farmers must consider several factors – the type of feed they provide to their animals, and the fact that the climate is changing, among others. Dr Ngcobo said their main aim was to help the farmers become small-holding commercial farmers. He said what they considered important was that many local youth attended the event, and that the cattle and sheep owners were willing to work with young people. He said the involvement of the youth was a sign that the future of farming in the area could be bright. He said that they would seriously think about focusing on the youth and training them to the level of being registered reproductive operators.
Youth involvement will also go a long way in soothing the concerns of the KwaZulu-Natal Premier, who, according to Dr Mapeka, expressed concern about “Agriculture being under threat due to ageing farmers, and lack of youth participation. This resonated deeply with my vision of involving youth in actively participating in my project; hence, I travel with my students to perform project activities. When I announce that we are visiting farmers, their faces light up,” said Dr Mapeka.
Speakers emphasised a “dire need” to care for their animals by providing them with the right feed and the correct medication. “You look after your animals, not the other way round,” said Dr Ndumiso Ncobela, a Lecturer in the University’s Department of Agriculture. He was one of the speakers who addressed the farmers at the TVET’s hall. Other speakers were from the ARC, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Agriculture and the local government, and the Manager of the TVET College, Lungile Mbhele.