North West agriculture dept to hand over 11 handling facilities to farmers

MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development in the North West Desbo Mohono will soon hand over eleven livestock handling facilities to farming communities.

Desbo Mohono will conduct the handing over at Reitspruit Farm in the Bojanala Platinum District on Wednesday.

According to the department’s statement, creating an enabling environment for farming will not only contribute to improved health of the animals, but also improve food security and create more jobs through improved growth of livestock.

This will make more animal products available to beneficiaries in terms of milk and meat.

Increased need for handling facilities

“This is another effort by the department to assist farmers in the rural areas with the most necessary resource, that would assist them to circumvent many challenges and provide ease management of livestock,” said Mohono.

She explained the handling facilities are a need in communities due to the increase of management practices such as artificial insemination, castration, inoculation, dehorning and weighing.

Rural animals infrastructure is highlighted as one of the key value interventions in the national agriculture and agro-processing master plan.

Agricultural sector a key role player in economic reconstruction

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the agricultural sector has the potential to be a key driver on South Africa’s road to economic reconstruction and recovery.

Ramaphosa was addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Bonsmara Breeders’ Society on Tuesday.

During the last quarter of 2021, the agriculture sector was boosted by increased production of field crops, horticulture and animal products, which recorded the strongest growth, surging from at least R114 billion in 2021’s third quarter to R127 billion in the fourth quarter.

Ramaphosa also made reference to the importance of the agriculture sector in his State of the Nation address in February.

Ramaphosa said the agriculture sector had significant potential for job creation.

Additional reporting by Faizel Patel

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