Kenton-on-Sea - Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform Gugile Nkwinti has visited the Kenton-on-Sea’s Gorah Agri-business and Multi-purpose cooperative to inspect the 14 hectares of land given to them in October 2015 as part of the “one household, one hectare” programme.
The department launched the “one household, one hectare” programme last October to “fight the scourge of poverty in the country.” At the time, Nkwinti handed over 14 hectares of land alongside seeds to the cooperative.
During the site inspection on Thursday, Nkwinti said he was pleasantly surprised to find that the beneficiaries were harvesting crops of potatoes and pumpkins even though the country was experiencing a severe drought season.
“With the impact of drought I didn’t expect the positive result we are witnessing here today. We are really witnessing a beautiful thing. With this programme we are trying to transform rural economy,” Nkwinti said.
“We are piloting the programme, but we want to implement the programme across the country. We are dealing with hunger; we are creating the opportunity for the people. We are trying new things. We are not going to move with land reform forward if we are not bold enough.”
Gorah Farm Agribusiness and Multipurpose Cooperative Chairperson Milia Kani said that the land given to them was used to plant maize, pumpkin, sweet potato and potato.
“The one household, one hectare project has afforded the households to a chance to make a living for themselves and their families,” Kani said.
She added that twenty percent of earnings from each household would “go towards the growth of the farm” and that they were looking at the future acquisition of livestock.
The beneficiaries, who sell their produce locally were also able to secure contracts with Pick n Pay and the Port Elizabeth Fruit & Veg market.
Families had voiced a desire for their young people to “get training in financial management, bookkeeping and animal husbandry”.
Nkwinti said the department was committed to meeting that request as the constitution stated that “every citizen has the right to have access to sufficient food and water”.
Nkwinti said the programme was about “bringing dignity to people living in rural areas” and redressing injustices brought about as a result of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act, which dispossessed blacks of their land and destroyed their commercial farming ventures.
She pointed out that “each beneficiary received a certificate to be used as collateral if they want the bank to assist them and the land or the certificate cannot be sold because the land belongs to the state”.
“For us, as a department, it’s a chance for development as South Africa is a country, which is comprised of the developed and undeveloped. Therefore this is the chance for us to develop. We are turning around the rural area,” said Nkwinti.
African News Agency
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