Durban - KwaZulu - Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said that the KZN Department of Agriculture and rural Development has established the early morning farmers’ markets programme. She said this during the Agriculture Indaba that was held in Mandeni on Saturday.
Dube-Ncube said the programme was established after they had witnessed the challenges associated with food distribution during the Covid-19 lockdowns and social unrest.
The programme has developed a concept for the establishment of early morning farmers’ markets for co-operatives (including vulnerable groups) as a complementary strategy to existing municipal fresh produce and radical agrarian socio-economic transformation (raset) markets.
The premier said this initiative offered alternative distribution methods to reduce reliance on the middleman and distributors who sometimes exploited small-holder farmers by buying their produce at low prices and selling the produce at higher prices.
“The province intends to revive our ‘one home one Garden’ programme to fight poverty, not only in rural areas, but in our townships as well. The raset programme aims to increase economic opportunities for historically previously disadvantaged individuals,” she said.
During the Indaba, the Mec for Agriculture and rural Development Super Zuma touched on township agriculture as part of mitigating the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. “The department seeks to strengthen food security programmes in collaboration with other sector departments and stakeholders to promote increased access to food, especially by vulnerable groups in our community,” Zuma said.
Zuma added that seeds and seedlings would now be available for community consumption in districts and local offices.