It’s just such a pity that my sentiments aren’t shared with the majority of the population – but I reckon that’s mainly because they haven’t read about or met farmers!
Last week, the Agricultural Writers Association was treated to a farm tour in KwaZulu-Natal by Monsanto. Along with a small-scale farmer we visited two farms: one commercial and one subsistence.
Farmer Mdu Mlangeni with the @AgriWritersSA and @MonsantoCo on our way to see his cattle on his farm in KZN pic.twitter.com/yh8J8H8AyH
— Lindi van Rooyen (@Lindi83) October 31, 2013
The farmers had a few things in common. They were born into families who lived on communal land so farming was in their blood. After many years of struggle they all managed to scale up their operations to the point where they are now making a decent living on the farm. All three were also part of a mentorship programme run by Grain SA.
Here, they’ve learnt the importance of making use of the available technology, and all plant Monsanto seed, which they say has resulted in a significant increase in their yields.
This seed, I might add, was bought, not given as part of a hand-out. And that’s what sets these farmers apart. They have succeeded against great odds, but not one of them did it alone. They all had the help and support of the agriculture sector. These were there to mentor and lend a helping hand – not give hand-outs that usually result in a lot of state money being spent on something that has very little impact.
Listening to their stories and witnessing their humility and gratefulness for the help they received was heart-warming. They are true heroes.
It’s good to know that there are success stories out there and that many of them can be attributed to the helping hand of the agriculture sector. And yet the sector often has to hear how it’s not serious about transformation.
This leads me to only one conclusion: either politicians don’t want to hear the good news if it doesn’t suit their agenda to share it!
