SIPHOFANENI – Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza says players who are involved in the vegetable value chain, such as growers, inputs dealers, buyers, traders, and processors generally need considerable working capital for them to establish a vegetable farming enterprise.
The minister said this when addressing residents of Siphofaneni during the launch of the tunnels for youth agribusiness in Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu last Friday.
Mabuza explained that youth inclusion in agriculture is challenged by four key areas which include; access to finance, skills development, enhancing an enabling environment and market linkages for inputs and outputs.
“Today, we are here to launch an immeasurable partnership between MTN Eswatini and the Ministry of Agriculture through ESWADE focusing on developing Youth in Agriculture, “he said.
He explained that the initiative is founded on the principles of youth inclusion, and the aim is to empower, develop and economically improve the youth of Maphilingo and Mphumakudze chiefdoms.
“The Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu business shareholders have given the youth of both communities 4 tunnels (2 tunnels per FC) to their youth to start production. There are 20 youth shareholders from each chiefdom (20 from Maphilingo and 20 from Ntsabankhulu),” he said.
He continued: “The youth tunnel programmes in these two Chiefdoms is being funded by MTN ESWATINI for one cycle of production through an operational costs grant of E232 496. The Ministry of Agriculture, through ESWADE, will provide all necessary technical support which includes skills transfer, reliable water supply, provision of inputs as well as coordinating market linkages,”
He said the ministry was ecstatic about the partnership and extended its heartfelt appreciation to MTN Eswatini which keeps demonstrating how seriously they take issues of agriculture, food security and youth inclusion.
He explained that it is the second agricultural initiative under the ESWADE to be supported by MTN Eswatini, the first one being a support to beekeeping which happened under five (5) different chiefdoms under the SMLP Project to the value of E202 000, benefitting 100 youth in total.
“Today’s business is to launch the support to the youth of Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu who are starting their own tunnel production enterprises.
As a country, there couldn’t have been a better time for us to embrace innovations such as tunnel farming. This science allows farmers to circumvent the challenges posed by climate change because of its features which include shade netting which provides a cooling effect thus allowing the production of vegetables to happen throughout the year,” he said. The minister explained that this innovation also protects produce from natural disasters such as hail, storms, heatwaves, frost etc.
He said farmers can target the time when crops cannot strive in the open field, (be under threat) and enjoy good prices. He said other benefits of tunnel farming include, but are not limited to:
• Areas with very poor soils can be utilized since production is not done on soil (soil-less production using recommended growing medium)
• Automated structural provision ensures efficiency and greatly reduces labour costs compared to Open Field
• Water and inputs are efficiently utilized as they are supplied directly to the root zone of the plant.
“The million-dollar question we all have on this technology is on its financial benefit compared conventional farming. Research and experience have demonstrated that yield per plant is higher in tunnels than in the open field. A good example is a tomato where the yield per plant in tunnel production is 6 kg compared to 1.5 kg in the open field. Under such a condition it is possible for a farmer to achieve a revenue of SZL30000.00 Per tunnel per cycle against costs of production which are estimated at around SZL15 000.00. Farmers will also note that crops grown in tunnels have a longer harvesting period than in the open field. The total life span is six (6) months; two months growing period and a four-month harvesting period,” he said.
SIPHOFANENI – Climate change has a series of negative effects which lead to the reduction of yields and quality of vegetables, minister of agriculture Jabulani Mabuza has said.
“It also reduces the production period because of the extremely high temperatures experienced and by extension, the line of crops which can be produced is also limited, making the variety of food available on the shelve to be on the decline. This, therefore, poses a serious threat to food security, and to our quest to end hunger, ”he said.
He continued: “I would like to encourage farmers to adopt the tunnel and related technologies as they are the future of Agriculture, especially with the natural disasters that are being experienced worldwide. The world is experiencing shorter periods to engage in food production, which will lead to food scarcity. In summer it is not practical to produce vegetables in the Lowveld due to the high temperatures, therefore the Ministry advocates for such innovations, and pledges its technical support to all emaSwati who are participating in food production,”
He said the success of this tunnel project will inform the sustainability of the LUSIP I since the youth are the future shareholders even in the bigger tunnel production projects in the two areas. “I hope the youth who have been fortunate to be part of this amazing opportunity will grasp it and use it as a stepping stone stepping stone into their future in Agribusiness,” he said.
“Allow me to extend my gratitude once again to both MTN Eswatini, ESWADE and especially to the shareholders of Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu who saw to the birth of this initiative. Special appreciation goes to the shareholders of Ntsabankhulu and Maphilingo who have given their youth two tunnels each. We hope that in our next visit to this very site we will receive reports that these youth groups are now exporting their produce through the facilitation of marketing bodies such as the LnL and NAMBoard. With these remarks programme director, allow me to officially launch the Tunnels for Youth Agribusiness in Maphilingo and Ntsabankhulu”.
