HA-MASHAMBA – The Makhado Municipality, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture at district level staged the Female Farmer Competition, aimed at recognising the availability, commitment and skills of women to fight poverty in agricultural business. It was held at Mashamba Community Garden on Friday (June 11).

The female farmer competition was initiated in 1999 by the National Department of Agriculture to promote women in the agriculture business and to encourage them to start their own co-operatives. The interesting part of the competition is that, since 2000, female farmers from the Makhado Municipal area have been representing the Limpopo Province.

According to the deputy manager for crops and facilitation in the Department of Agriculture in the Vhembe District, Ms EM Malahlela, the main objectives of the competition include encouraging more women to venture into the agricultural business, to collect data, to empower women and recognise their skills, to appreciate what they are doing with regard to poverty alleviation in the agricultural field, as well as to recruit more women to participate in poverty alleviation through agriculture. "I can assure you that these women are creating more jobs for the unemployed in agriculture," she said.

She said that, since people belongs to municipalities, the Department of Agriculture comes in to support with skills and management, while municipalities support the competition by issuing certificates and entertainment.

Since 1999, the following farmers received accolades: Alvinah Nembahe (Mutale), Fhatuwani Ramabulana of Khumbe poultry, Mrs Mukatoni, Anna-Marie Jordaan and last year's female farmer winner, Mrs Tendani Senoamadi of Levubu Hilcrest farm. Categories in the competition include: top household producer, informal market, top for national market and top exporter market.

When the competition was initiated in 1999, prizes at the municipal level were R1 000 for 1st, R700 for 2nd and R500 for 3rd prize. This year, all winners of the first prizes pocketed R1 500, 2nd R1 000 and 3rd R700.

The winners of the first prizes are Dzudzani Community Garden (household), Masana ya dyambu poultry (informal market), Mashamba Community garden (national market) and the top exporter market is Northwich farm.

The mayor of the Makhado Municipality, Cllr SR Nkuzana, said that, since the government has already empowered women, they must work with confidence in themselves and in the spirit of working as a collective team, they can create a lot of jobs. He encouraged them that they must also win in the district and the province, so that they will represent the province at the national level again