…under theme of empowering agripreneurs through innovation and technology
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MANZINI – “It is sad to see trucks coming to feed emaSwati with food whose origin we don’t even know”.
These were the words of Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Sydney Simelane who is the programme director at the Youth Agriculture Indaba which kicked off at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre this morning. The PS said this to reiterate the theme of the event; Empowering Youth Agripreneurs Through Innovation and Technology: Sibasha! Sitalondla Live. #SIdlaKwetfu.
The Youth Agriculture Indaba kicked off with a speech from the representative of the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Youth Affairs, followed by a welcoming speech from Manzini Regional Administrator, Chief Prince Gija.
“I am that we are here today to focus on youth and agriculture. When we speak of agriculture we are talking about the basic needs of a person and the nation. A country which does not take Agriculture seriously cannot compete with the world, it will always lag behind, begging from other countries,” said the Chief.
“In Eswatini we are lucky because the King has given us land where we do not even pay tax on that land. Let us make good productive use of that land. I request that as a nation we should plant the love of Agriculture among the youth. The youth act as if you are regressing them when you mention agriculture, even though those are the basic needs of the earth. There is no successful country which does not rely on agriculture,” added Chief Gija.
The Chief urged the youth to take advantage of the abundant resources in terms of water and land to develop agricultural enterprises.
The Youth Agriculture Indaba is graced by the Deputy Prime Minister, who is representing the Prime Minister, as well as the Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza who will be speaking to over 100 youth entrepreneurs during the Indaba. The Inaugural Youth Indaba is organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, in partnership with stakeholders in the sector; Eswatini Water Development Enterprise (ESWADE), Eswatini National Agriculture Union (ESNAU), the Centre for Financial Inclusion (CFI), The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and others.
