Pretoria - Officials from the Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform Department are on a mission to revive agriculture in schools.
The department hopes to involve schools in the school nutrition programme and to renew interest in agricultural science as a career choice for learners.
"To sustain food security in the province, education and training of food production should start at the school level and educators should be equipped with the practical and latest developments in the sector," said Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Zoleka Capa.
Dedicated extension officers from the department will be deployed at provincial schools to help drive the project.
For the past two weeks, Capa has been visiting the eight schools she adopted, handing over farming materials including rakes, spades, hoes, water tanks, watering cans, wheelbarrows as well as seeds to help them start their own gardens.
Schools already visited include Nceba, Ntabankulu, Mfundisweni and Gwebindlala High Schools, all in Ntababankulu, Tylden School in Mt Frere and Kwamhlontlo High School in Lady Frere.
Today she is at JJR Jolobe High School in Port Elizabeth.
Department spokesperson Ayabulela Ngoqo said Capa was serious about ensuring each and every school in the province was involved in food security as part of the Zero Hunger campaign, which aims to ensure all available land is cultivated.
Ngoqo added that the department was also engaged in agricultural science road shows and summits in the province to engage pupils and successful high school clubs initiatives, which encourage schools to form their own gardens.
Capa will on Wednesday visit Motherwell township, where she will be distributing farming material.
