NAFU president, Jabu Mahlangu, alongside DARDLEA MEC, Busi Shiba, during the meeting
By Kopano Dibakwane
The National African Farmers Union(NAFU) in Mpumalanga has outlined its intention to benefit the entire agricultural sector in the province by collaborating with the Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs(DARDLEA), during the first meeting held between the two entities in Emalahleni on Thursday 12 October.
The meeting also provided the opportunity for NAFU to raise its concerns, plans and inputs to further consolidate working relations with DARDLEA.
NAFU president and former Mpumalanga MEC for Local Government and Housing, Jabu Mahlangu, welcomed the meeting and said that his union is willing to meet government halfway on its envisioned programmes.
” We are very excited about the programmes that they(MEC and DARDLEA) are embarking upon because they synergize with our programmes as NAFU.
” We also identified several gaps and we believe that together working with the team of the MEC we can collaborate and work around a range of issue such as farmer development, identifying youth, women and disabled people who require assistance,” said Mahlangu.
He welcomed the memorandum of understanding(MOU) signed between DARDLEA and Mozambique, adding that NAFU is also delving into the rest of SADEC.
” We are also embarking on a small programme called backyard farming, the department has also confirmed that they are involved in this space and they would like to work with ourselves.
” There are certain new technologies that we discovered and the department has also showed interest and willingness to be part of what we are doing,” said Mahlangu.
According to a statement released by DARDLEA, MEC Shiba called for further engagement after the inaugural meeting. She equally welcomed the interest displayed by NAFU in reaching out to the extensive farming community in the province.
Shiba furthermore engaged NAFU leadership on their programmes and how they benefit farmers.She was accompanied by two chief directors, alongside officials from the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
