“Women must use all their opportunities”

Female farmers were encouraged to take agricultural farming seriously to help fight poverty and unemployment hampering rural communities.

“It is time to get up and do things for yourself, so that we can defeat poverty and unemployment and help create jobs for jobless people. I want to encourage our rural women to actively participate in agricultural farming to better their lives,” said the overall winner of the Vhembe Female Entrepreneur Award, Ms  Annikie Malukuta.

Malukuta said nowadays emerging farmers had no reason not to start up farming, as the government was assisting farmers with seedlings and tractors. She was speaking last Thursday during the Vhembe Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, which was held at the Thohoyandou Indoor Sports Centre.

Malukuta won R5 000-00. She grows tomatoes, butternuts and green beans, among others, on her Feskraal I Unit 84 at the Nwanedi farms. She will represent the Vhembe Female Entrepreneurs during the provincial competition, scheduled to be held on 20 August in Polokwane.

Acting Vhembe Executive Mayor Rodgers Tshivhase said the district was humbled to be associated with the progressive department of agriculture in its efforts to fight poverty and encourage women to take centre stage in the economic development of Vhembe district. “Vhembe District Municipality has a number of programmes aimed at helping and uplifting emerging farmers and other enterprises. I urge women in our district to take full advantage of all these opportunities.”

Date:14 August 2015

By: Silas Nduvheni

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