North West MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Madoda Sambatha, was in his best element as he motivated farmers to improve their skills, learn the tricks of successful farming and establish effective networks of a win-win nature.
Speaking off-the-cuff, and totally unscripted, Sambatha offered farmers tips and insights, the do’s and the don’ts of their industry.
“Buy from farmers, to protect farmers,” he told a large contingency of farmers, stakeholders and community members who converged on a selected farm in Sannieshof in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District of the North West province’s farming heartland.
“No more buying biological products from people with no knowledge of biological products,” Sambatha told the listening farmers, who nodded in apparent approval at every word he uttered passionately. “We have seen incidents where some people who supply diesel have no tractors,” he said.
He advised farmers to take advantage of the value chain. “Farmers must run accredited training services. Register in the CSD (Central Supplier Database) of the government,” he advised farmers.
He also gave an eye-opening talk on the difference between “crop incubation” and “crop massification”.
Sambatha said: “Crop incubation is the entry level. With crop massification, no one who has no knowledge of farming should skip entry level requirements.” He said the industry can oftentimes be a playground for some wayward people. “We’ve had people that we give seeds to, but those people have no idea what the seeds are for,” Sambatha lamented. “Those who are authentic seekers of seeds queue before those who’ve taken seeds in order to buy that seed from them.”
The MEC did not spare the government in the litany of poor performance in agriculture. He said that too often the government was late in supplying seeds to farmers who need assistance. “This must stop,” he said.
He added that among other irregularities were some people selling grant forms to farmers. Some of the forms can fetch as high as R5000. “Stop buying forms from anyone. When we advertise our programs, we never say forms are for sale. So why do you buy them?,” he asked.
North West has vast tracts of fertile land. Sambatha, however, warned the farmers against the penchant of some to celebrate availability of fertile land. “We must only celebrate the produce from the fertile land,” he said, before adding: “We must stop celebrating the fertility of land when the land lies fallow.”
He implored farmers not to ignore the importance of agricultural skills development. Some farmers enter the industry with no basic skills whatsoever. Farming requires technical skill and knowledge. “Anyone who plant without knowing where they are going to sell their products is not a real farmer,” Sambatha argued vociferously. “You must have a marketing plan first,” he said. He added that no self-respecting farmer would grow their crops and harvest, and only then start to think where they are going selling their produce.
Sambatha set the entire day to interact with the farmers, stakeholders and the community. He gave many individual attentions, listening to their concerns or complaints and inviting some to his office in Mafikeng for detailed discussions and the way-forward.
A cow was also slaughtered on the day in order to feed all the attendees, and Sambatha took more time to break bread with the farmers around the same table, listening with keen interest and promising to alleviate the plight of many wherever possible, and depending on his departmental capabilities.
The day, the launch of the provincial planting season, was hailed as hugely successful by many. Renowned farmer Alex Nesangane, who demonstrated to other farmers on the best usage of planter/spray calibration, described the day as worthy of being set aside and thanked MEC Sambatha for his exemplary leadership of agriculture in the North West province, where he also serves as Secretary of the SA Communist Party (SACP).
