Ms Dikeledi Magadzi, MEC for Agriculture in the Limpopo Province, has urged farmers in the province to be organized and group themselves into co-operatives in order to access assistance from government.

She said it was easy for government to deal with group challenges rather than to deal with their problems as individuals.

Magadzi was speaking at the Vhembe Information Day for Farmers at the Tshifulanani stadium near Thohoyandou last week Friday. Farmers from an array of farming commodities gathered for the annual event and had time to interact with the MEC and other role players and service providers in the agriculture sector.

Traditional dances and other activities became the order of the day and farmers entered a raffle competition where numbers were called and the winners went home with electrical appliances like microwaves and fridges from one of the major role players, Eskom. Challenges facing farmers like grants and other help from government, water, implements and fertilizers were some of the problems that surfaced during the imbizos and the MEC responded to them.

The theme for this year was Empowering farmers towards self-reliance and was aimed at providing farmers with information on programmes and services that various stakeholders are providing for them. Farmers also learned about networking and sharing information.

This year´s event was more of an exhibition than a presentation where different service providers and stakeholders in the agricultural sector exhibited their products. More than 3000 local farmers from the Vhembe District attended this year’s function.

MEC Magadzi encouraged farmers to buy their agricultural products, such as fertilizer and seed, in bulk so as to get reduced prices from suppliers. "This could be achieved only when farmers are working together as co-operatives," said Magadzi.

She said the water shortage is a national problem that is also affecting the whole province as it has not rained for such a long time. "We are having constant discussions with the department of Water Affairs that they assist and educate our farmers on the use of water and to register them as water users. We are also changing the system of irrigation, so that we can use water sparingly," added Magadzi.

She also commended Spar in Thohoyandou for their contribution to farmer development by their taking the lead in the region by buying agricultural products from the local farmers in the Vhembe region.

Limpopo Tractors, a company selling tractors in the province, has also come up with a programme to train farmers in operating, ploughing and driving tractors for free.

The managing director, Mr Thys Diedericks, said his company had already trained more than 600 farmers so far and was still waiting for others to come. “We are here to assist you and please take advantage of this free service to your advantage,” he said.

He urged farmers to supply their names to the company, so that they can train them. "We are ploughing back to the farmers who support us in business; we are nothing without them. About 1% of our profit is paid to the Limpopo government to help farmers," said Diedericks.