The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in KwaZulu-Natal, Mrs. Thembeni Madlopha-Mthethwa, has stated that what a man from Mbumbulu has done, who opened a field on land that is no longer working, must be an example to others.
Mrs Madlopha-Mthethwa visited the area under the Department’s program known as Operation Siyaholla.
The Vuka Supply Farm is led by Mr. Mondli Shangase, who opened it because he wants to fight hunger in the community, as he is now working with different members to carry out the work.
“I started this farm because I didn’t want to see people suffering from hunger in the community and there are unemployed people, so I decided to start a program like this to help families take pot to the stove. I wanted people to eat nutritious food from the soil. Not only that, we have grown so much that now some of our plants are sold in some of the big stores in Durban,” said Shangase.
He said they are grateful for the support that came from the Department as they received ten tanks, a tractor and other farming equipment that will help them continue their work.
“This will help us a lot as the resources are what we needed the most. We are also grateful to the Department for giving us young people who know more about this field to work with us and help us in different things. We only have 10 people in the community and we are doing everything possible to move forward and grow from what we are now,” he said.
The trustee said that he did not like the fact that the land of the defunct school was used to help the community.
“This is the most exciting way to see the progress of agriculture in the province. I encourage other districts here to see what happened in Mbumbulu. Our purpose in coming to this farm under this program is to look at what is happening and give subsidies to the farmers.
“This program known as Operation Siyawala is that we see ourselves delivering resources to the people as the government so that they can produce food for the community, now we will ensure that everything we have left works so that the food they have been producing can grow,” he said.