Eastern Cape Recognises Women’s Contributions to Agriculture

The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is set to honour deserving women in the agriculture industry as part of the department’s drive to appreciate Women in Agriculture this week.

The department noted that the goal of the awards is to celebrate and reward women in farming and in agroprocessing.

“The awards are an instrument through which the contribution of women in the fight against poverty, hunger, and joblessness is recognized. This will increase participation and visibility of women in the sector,” the department said.

The main focus of the programme is to stress that women also contribute to food security, employment, the economy, and poverty eradication.

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The programme has a vision of achieving transformation and sustained development of women entrepreneurs from subsistence and smallholder producers to commercial and processing producers who also export their products.

The programme also contributes to the implementation of the Women Empowerment Strategy’s (WES) objectives in supporting the role of women in full capital accumulation within the agricultural and land sector, land reform and rural development with a view of making a positive contribution towards the improvement of life for all.

“The strategy advocates that, women should be prioritized in various agricultural and land reform programmes, through which it will provide direction for sound and coherent empowerment intervention,” the department added.

The first award ceremony for the women of Alfred Nzo District Municipality was held on 11 June 2024 in Maluti Civic Centre, Matatiele.

The ceremony for the OR Tambo District Municipality shall be conducted on Thursday, 13 June at the Libode Town Hall.

“The district winners will compete with other women from the rest of the province. The provincial winners will compete for top honours at national level,” the department explained.