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Agriculture

Farmers described as “wealth” of the Free State

───   SABRINA DEAN 17:20 Tue, 22 Sep 2015

Farmers described as “wealth” of the Free State | News Article

Bloemfontein - The new agriculture MEC in the Free State has described farmers as a source of wealth for the province, adding that this wealth must be protected.

Oupa Khoabane was appointed as the new MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development last week. He has condemned a farm attack in the Vredefort area at the weekend which left a farm manager and two children dead. Khoabane says such “senseless” crimes rob the province of its wealth.

“Those are not the kind of events that we would want because such killings of farmers affect the industry itself. If you have a situation where people with a lot of experience and expertise in the industry are dying, it affects productivity, it affects what should be happening on farms.

“The crime that happens on farms really affects the industry and it is something that we have to stamp out. We need to work together more and more, with the police, with the farming communities…”

*Oupa Khoabane

Khoabane has committed himself to an open door policy. He says unless his department has a good understanding of the challenges faced by farmers, they will never be able to come up with appropriate strategies to help the industry.

The MEC is meanwhile expected to come under fire during his first provincial Legislature sitting this week. The DA’s Roy Jankielsohn has reportedly put forward a list of questions to be addressed to Khoabane about the Vrede Dairy Project. Some of the questions have seemingly remained unanswered in the Legislature for more than a year.

 

Sabrina Dean/OFM News


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*Oupa Khoabane:

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