Rural farmers in Vhembe, Limpopo Province, hailed the launch by the Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA), in collaboration with Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), of the Nguni cattle assisted reproductive technology (ART).

At the recent launch of the project in Vuvha in Thengwe outside Thohoyandou, farmers said the new project would improve farming in the area. Tshianeo Mathidi, who represented the farmers, described the project as "a milestone for rural farming" and said farming would never be the same after the use of technology to advance it.

Launching the project, the MEC for Agriculture, Ms Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, said the project was designed to reach directly approximately 2 125 cattle and 600 farmers in Limpopo alone. She said the objective was to introduce a genetically superior breed.

“It is also aimed at assisting farmers by reducing mortality and improve fertility,” she added.

She said that ART transferred Nguni cattle to local recipients.The ultimate goal is to introduce a large number of bulls that will not be related to the cows that beget them.

The roll-out project involves supplementing the application of ART with animal health, DNA technology, the beef profit partnership model and training to ensure that productivity challenges are resolved within the rural cattle challenges sector.

“The previous pilot project reached 18 rural farmers in Limpopo and the Eastern Cape,” said Duba.