Pretoria - Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti has unveiled the Animal and Veld Management Programme (AVMP), which is aimed at providing relief for farmers in rural areas.
The programme was launched in Msinga village in KwaZulu-Natal.
It is aimed at providing relief for farmers in the rural areas, who are operating under challenging circumstances made worse by spatial congestion and environmental degradation due to overgrazing.
The programme will also help with soil rehabilitation, spatial decongestion, and re-greening of the environment. It is part of government’s intervention towards reversing the legacy of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act, which led to the congestion of the majority of black people into 13% of the land, resulting in challenges of overcrowding and overgrazing in communal areas.
The department will identify farmers in communal areas who have showed potential for successful farming. Based on their track record, such farmers will be moved into some of the state-owned farms in order to enable them to expand their farming operations.
Speaking on behalf of the Gunjana livestock farmers during the launch, Mkakeni Mchunu from Msinga village welcomed the introduction of the programme in their village.
“We have livestock but not enough grazing land. We appreciate not only the opportunity to access more land, but also the training and skills development in order to enhance our farming operations.”
The Animal and Veld Management Programme will reach the country’s 24 poorest district municipality areas. Msinga has been identified as one of the areas that has been most affected by soil erosion.
Twenty-seven young people from the local community, who received training on disaster management, have been deployed as part of the environmental rehabilitation of the 42.5 hectares of land where the community members keep their livestock.
As part of the roll out of AVMP to the rest of the country, Nkwinti announced that the department will host a consultative workshop which will be attended by ministers and MECs from partner government departments, as well as district mayors.
The workshop will take place on Tuesday at St. Georges Hotel in Centurion, Gauteng. - SAnews.gov.za
