As a farmer himself, President Cyril Ramaphosa knows as well as I do that fertile farmland with access to irrigation water is like a gold mine.
The government-owned farms near the Fish River in Cradock are such gold mines, which is why it is tragic that they are so underutilised after the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform paid in excess of R350m for them.
The farms were then leased for 30 years to a small group of black farmers to grow sugar beet to supply an ethanol plant the Industrial Development Corporation was planning to build.
But the plan never got off the ground.
In the spirit of Ramaphosa’s Thuma Mina campaign, I would like to raise my hand and request his support to lease 1,000ha to farm commercially. I am an African South African.
I am highly educated. I am passionate about farming and empowering young people. I know what I want to produce and have markets for it.
The Cradock farms are ideal for what I want to grow. Because I believe Ramaphosa is a principled man, he will agree that I too deserve an opportunity to lend a hand to SA’s quest for food security, prosperity and social equity.
Mpumelelo Ncwadi
Cape Town
Click here to Book Accommodation in Cradock, Graaf Reinett, Hofmeyer or surrounds.
Article source: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/letters/2018-06-29-letter-mr-president-thuma-mina/