Livestock Indaba aims to provide strategies to grow agricultural sector
Durban — The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Agriculture and Rural Development hosted the provincial Livestock Indaba Roadshow at the Owen Sithole College of Agriculture, King Cetshwayo District, on Tuesday.
The road show was an attempt to continue the positive trend in South Africa’s agricultural sector, which is key to the national gross domestic department.
Theme for the Indaba was “Developing Rural Economics Through Livestock.”
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi said agriculture had the ability to restore dignity to the people and alleviate poverty.
Sithole-Moloi estimated that over 2.8 million cattle are owned by farmers in the province and the average selling price is R10 000. She said it is important to keep livestock in good condition as that equates to billions of rand for the economy.
“The department has accelerated the implementation of food security programmes aimed at poverty-stricken and vulnerable households that face food insecurity. The department is turning around the sector through the implementation of a provincial livestock strategy, which forms an integral part of the KZN provincial growth strategy,” said Sithole-Moloi.
The strategy consists of seven pillars that aim to address socio-economic issues in the sector. These pillars are: comprehensive veterinary technical support; animal identification and anti-theft measures; breeding and selection; marketing and value adding; livestock infrastructure development and agro logistics; veld management and nutrition; and applied/adaptive research.
“Our aim with these pillars is to bring about a revolution leading to real transformation in the sector and be able to address the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality that affect mainly youth, women and disabled people,” said Sithole-Moloi.
The department will also be working closely with amakhosi to ensure people in rural areas get the assistance they need, Sithole-Moloi said.
“We want our communities to continue planting and end poverty once and for all. We know agriculture is a fundamental source of national prosperity. Let us use agriculture to better the lives of our people in KZN,” said Sithole-Moloi.
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