BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – Farmers have been afforded an opportunity to apply for funds ranging from E5 000 to E5 million.
This transpired today (Thursday, November
28, 2024) at Pigg’s Peak Hotel and Casino in Pigg’s Peak when he introduced the Eswatini Agricultural Development Fund, under which the funds would be accessed by the farmers. Minister of Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka said this fund was meant for farmers to have ease of access to funds in order to increase food production in the country.
Tshawuka said they had noted that it was difficult for farmers to have access to finance, especially in banks. He said the fund would cater for many agricultural products such as livestock farming, crop, vegetable, and fruit production.
The minister advised members of the public to make use of extension officers to access funding under the Eswatini Agricultural Development Fund. Tshawuka said extension officers were easy to access because they were stationed among the people. He said they had the capacity to give help Emaswati access the fund.
He further mentioned that officers in the Rural Development Areas (RDAs) could also help in that regard. He also advised the nation to approach officers in the Ministry of Agriculture. He reminded the nation that these days, the Ministry of Agriculture was stationed at Dlanubeka Building in Mbabane. This was because the Ministry of Agriculture offices were being renovated.
He said an email could also be sent to agroinfosystems@gov.sz or call 7630 7197 or 7666 0292. The minister emphasised that for people who would run agri-business for the first time, they would be capped at E1 million. He said there were many worldwide markets that accepted agricultural products from Eswatini, such as Taiwan and Dubai. According to Tshawuka, these markets were in demand for Eswatini products.
He further mentioned that those who wanted the funds should also consider establishing processing plants within Eswatini so that growers should not have to look for processing plants. He also mentioned that there was a market from Eswatini Kitchens, which wanted 48 tonnes of tomatoes per day. The minister further encouraged farmers to keep producing their agricultural products because according to meteorologists, rains would be there, despite the climate change. He said it was also important to plant crops that were suitable in terms of times and places.
