"The land is now caring for us"

A large group of residents, which included traditional leaders and young people from around the Vhembe District, converged at Tshikhwani at the Vhumatshelo Cooperative Youth Project last Thursday to celebrate the Land Care initiative.

Mr Tshimangadzo Tshabuse, assistant director for Natural Resource Management in Agriculture in Vhembe, said that land degradation and deforestation posed an environmental threat in several parts of the Limpopo province, especially in the rural areas. The situation is being made worse by the cutting down of trees for household use and other reasons. “We are proudly leading and supporting initiatives that seek to urge people to plant trees to improve the environment, whilst at the same time contributing to food security and job creation,” said Tshabuse.

The award-winning Mr Lutendo Ramuhala of Vhumatshelo Cooperative at Tshikhwani said that they planted different vegetables, depending on the time of year. “We have presently planted baby marrows, patty pans, baby gems, green beans, okra and chillies. We are happy today because we have created jobs for ourselves and we can put some food on the table,” he said.

Ramuhala said that things were moving and there was light at the end of the tunnel. “We couldn’t realize that we were sitting on a bag of money until we took the initiative to stand up and fight for our future. Being unemployed and hungry taught us to come up with a plan to support our families.  Today, we are our own bosses and we are happy about our achievements,” he said.

Chief Mbulaheni Ramabulana urged young people in the Vhembe region who are interested in farming to form cooperatives in order to utilize the market efficiently. “We are saluting the youth of our district in their relentless struggle for food security and the development of the agricultural sector of our economy,” he added. “We are happy and inspired that we still have youths like you who are now equipped to face the modern world of agriculture. This is not enough. Do not stop here, but continue studying to keep up with modern farming trends,” he said.

News - Date: 24 September 2017

Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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