BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– More than 70 per cent of the population of Eswatini depends on agriculture for a living.
This was revealed by Ambassador Jeremy Liang and Minister of Agriculture Jabulani ‘Buy Cash’ Mabuza during the handover Ceremony of 20 Tonnes Fertilisers worth E25 258 , a donation by the Government of the Republic of China Taiwan to the Government of Eswatini.
Mabuza said it was one of the most important sectors in the country.
He said the agricultural industry has played an important role in order for people to be able to support themselves while injecting money into the economy.
“It is observed that the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war have had a serious impact on agriculture. The value chain has been disrupted and the price of agricultural input rocketed. Last year the price of fertiliser in May was 76 per cent higher than the same month in 2021,” he said.
In addition to Mabuza’s sentiments, Liang said the price of fertiliser was equally challenging to outsource and only is the commercial sugar production seriously impacted but also the production of the staple food, maize, is jeopardised. It further stresses farmers’ income and national food security.
“ It is therefore fitting that during this gathering Taiwan donates fertiliser to the Ministry of Agriculture, Eswatini based on the finding of the agricultural expert delegation in 2022,” said the Ambassador.
When further explaining the importance of fertiliser, Minister Mabuza said they were critical and important input to agriculture production, without which the chances of obtaining higher yields and achieving food security is nearly impossible.
The fertilizer donation is a result of a visit by the Secretary General of ICDF to the kingdom of Eswatini in July 2019 where the technical teams for the two countries held discussions and agreed on sharing of knowledge and experience in various areas of agriculture.
Mabuza said the purpose of the fertilizer donation is establish the suitability of the fertilizer formulation to the climate and crop production in Eswatini.
The other objective is to have fertiliser manufacturing being carried out in collaboration with companies from Taiwan also involved in producing of fertilisers in Eswatini.
Meanwhile preliminary evaluation by the ministry has indicated that the fertiliser is of the composition and value that will be helpful to our farmers.
The important next stage will be to carry out field testing to establish response in terms of yield.
