….ESWADE assisting farmers here produce fresh vegetables.
By Mickie Langwenya
SIPHOFANENI – COVID-19 lockdowns and the ongoing political unrest has not deterred the spirit of 41 farmers who are now able to generate an income from agribusiness, thanks to the Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (ESWADE).
In a small community known as Mabhudlweni under the Siphofaneni Constituency, the farmers have managed to produce vegetables for local market and further supply the National Marketing and Agricultural Board (NAMBoard).
Through a funding from the European Union (EU) under the High Value Crops and Horticulture Project (HVCHP), Nsikeni Farmer Company was born and it is doing good in terms of food production.
Nsikeni Farmer Company is a farm located at Mabhudlweni area under Madlenya Chiefdom in the LUSIP I area. The farm has a total irrigable area of 13.5 hectares. It is one of the companies that was formed under the European Union (EU) funded High Value Crops and Horticulture Project (HVCHP) and started producing in August 2019. The company is a full-blown commercial farm with 41 Shareholders, a board of directors formed by shareholders, a farm supervisor, and labourers hired independently from shareholding. The farm has a variety of vegetable crops on the ground, namely, potato, green mealies, green pepper, and beetroot.
Chairperson of the company, Bitiwe Gamedze, told Eswatini Positive News on Thursday that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the project shareholders have not backed down, but instead they have decided to push harder in order to boost the Kingdom of Eswatini produce more vegetables.
Indeed, this publication, during its visit on Thursday, found more elderly people working on the farm.
The farm produces both conventional and baby vegetables for companies such as NAMBoard, LNL and vendors. Production by the farmer company is primarily driven by market demand for their production. Winter and summer cropping plans are drawn as a guide for the company to produce by the markets
Gamedze said the project has managed to help local community members provide food for their families, a thing that has contributed in poverty reduction.
He explained that despite damages caused by COVID-19, the project has helped them feed many.
Futhi Mkhabela who works in the farm said even though she was not a shareholder yet, but working the farm has prevented her from doing disgraceful activities that girls her age are engaged to.
