The Department of Agriculture and the Finnish government will establish an agribusiness academy in Limpopo, premier Sello Moloto has announced.
Speaking during the State of the Province address in Lebowakgomo, Moloto said the academy would be based at the former College of Agriculture of Tompi Seleka in Ga-Sekhukhune and in Madzivhandila, Vhembe District Municipality.
He said the academy would mentor and train farmers in subsistence farming and also provide refresher courses for officers in the province’s agricultural sector. “The department wants to ensure that it does more than redistributing land to people. It must empower those who are interested in farming by equipping them with the necessary skills,” he said. Moloto said the land restitution programme would not yield the desired outcome if beneficiaries failed to ensure that the land given to them remains productive. A griculture MEC Dikeledi Magadzi said the academy would consolidate training initiatives that were ignored in the past.
“In the past few years we had the Farmers’ Excellence Initiative through which we trained farmers on specific products that they should produce. We think that the new academy will enhance agriculture business and properly train those who are interested in farming,” she said. – BuaNews
