Ms Dakalo Magwede of Louis Trichardt was crowned the best female farmer of the year during the provincial Female Farmer of the Year Competition that was held in Polokwane last Wednesday.

Magwede, a cattle farmer, outclassed more than 200 women from the five districts of Limpopo. She received R400 000, a trophy and a certificate.

She is a teacher at Maelula High School and mother of three children. She says that she will use her prize money to buy more cattle.

According to her, she learnt about farming from a very young age as her parents owned some cattle. She is still faced with some challenges like stock theft, drought, diseases and veld fires as she does not have a farm of her own. She owns 180 cattle and is leasing 400 hectares of land on a commercial farm in the area.

Other women received a cash prize of R32 000 each for achieving the first position in various categories such as the best young entrepreneur, best subsistence farmer, top exporter and best female worker.

Two of the hardworking farmers from Vhembe who also received prizes were Mrs Annah Tshirema, who ended first in the livestock category and received R35 500, and Mrs Asnath Mafukasaga, who received R35 000 for the first prize in fisheries.

The Makhado Municipality has already produced national female famer of the year winners such as Fhatuwani Ramabulana, Anna-Marie Jordaan and Paulina Mukatuni, since the competition started in 1999.

Speaking during the event, the Premier of Limpopo, Mr Cassel Mathale, said small-scale farming contributed a lot to food security and local economic development, especially in rural areas. He said the government was working hard to support subsistence farmers. “Agriculture and the creation of food security for our people is part of rural development and we must create opportunities for them. This might be seen as a small contribution, but it does contribute to rural development and we are going to ensure that we support them more and more,” said Mathale.

In July, Mgwede was nominated as the Vhembe district´s best female farmer of the year and received R4000 as a prize. She will compete at the national female farmer of the year award at a date still to be announced.

The event was addressed by the MEC for the Department of Agriculture, Mrs Dipuo Letstsi Duba, who said that emerging farmers played an important role in food production. She encouraged other women to get involved by starting their small gardens at the back of their houses. "I appreciate and value the contribution of women in economic activities of the province," said Duba.