MEC Mothlaping, joined by various stakeholders and officials from the Department, recently officiated the Namakwa, John Taolo Gaetsewe and ZF Mgcawu Producer Graduation Ceremony.
This ceremony sought to celebrate and honour subsistence and emerging farmers from the three districts for successfully completing accredited agricultural short skills programmes through the Northern Cape Agriculture Incubator. The Department is very committed to a stronger agricultural sector and therefore understands that it must invest in building stronger farmers. Investing in people and equipping them with knowledge, skills, technical support, mentorship and access to opportunities results in improved food security, sustainable rural livelihoods and commercially viable producers. For these reasons, during the 2024/205 financial year, a provincial training plan was designed and implemented through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme's (CASP) R3.5 million endorsement. This training plan includes both credit-bearing and non credit-bearing training.
Initially, the Department set out to train 1000 participants across all five districts in the province, 500 targeted for credit-bearing training and 500 targeted for non credit-bearing training. MEC Mothlaping was pleased to announce that the Department had exceeded it's initial target and instead provided provided non credit-bearing training to 1682 beneficiaries and credit-bearing training to 631 beneficiaries. District extension practitioners, who work closely with the farmers and understand their realities and challenges, identified their needs and this ensured that the farmers had access to structured learning opportunities that meets their practical needs.
The graduation ceremonies mark the beginning of continued producer support and development. Graduates will continue to benefit from:
- Agricultural mentorship programmes,
- Extension and advisory services,
- Access to agricultural development information,
- Market linkage initiatives,
- Business development support; and
- Information on funding opportunities including CASP and Land Care programmes.
The Department and the Northern Cape Agricultural Incubator will continue working collaboratively to ensure that acquired skills translate into sustainable agricultural enterprises and improved livelihoods.