Minister of Agriculture, UN Resident Coordinator visit  successful agroforestry farmer in Manzini

On the 3rd of June 2021, Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Jabulani Manzini and the UN Resident Coordinator, Ms. Nathalie Ndongo-Seh visited a smallholder farmer who has demonstrated success in agroforestry in Lwandle area, a rural community on the outskirts of Manzini.

The visit sought to witness the success of the Swaziland Agricultural Development Programme (SADP), an initiative supported by the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2009 aimed at improving food security of rural households and to foster equitable economic growth and development. Senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, and FAO were part of the visit.

Mr. Zuka Bhembe has planted over 2000 pawpaw tress, 800 banana plants, a sizeable number of mango and orange plants…and has recently started beekeeping. In 2010, and due to the drought conditions prevailing at that time, he was enlisted by Ministry of Agriculture and FAO to try out Agroforestry as an alternative to farming. He received 20 fruit tree seedlings, 5 banana plants, 5 mango plants, 5 pawpaw plants and 5 orange plants as well as training.

Mr. Bhembe expressed thanked the Ministry of Agriculture and the UN Family for assisting him with the project and for showing up to see his progress. “Because I am always at the fields in my farm with my wife and children, working very hard with no time to rest, the community has always thought we are anti-social and do not want to socialize with them and do not want to work for the community,” he said.

The Minister thanked Bhembe and his family for their resilience and determination to see their farming succeed. “If many Emaswati did what Mr Bhembe and his family are doing, Eswatini would have progressed much further as a country,” he said. He related his personal story of how agriculture shaped him into the man he is today. He said he was raised by farmers, and the money earned paid his school fees.

He urged in particular young people to take agriculture a career choice. “Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the economy that does not become overcrowded, and there are always job opportunities in it,” he said.  “The issue of youth unemployment will not be resolved until they change their perception of agriculture, which provides plenty of job opportunities. People should have a positive outlook on farming. What we eat and wear is agriculture. Stop claiming that there is no money in agriculture.”

The UN Resident Coordinator noted that Bhembe’s project demonstrates the potential of agroforestry and tree-based systems in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “It is incredible how Mr. Bhembe and his wife have transformed this farm into the viable enterprise that it is today,” she said. “Sustainably managed agriculture, trees and forests, including their production systems, are key sectors for greening economies and efficiently transitioning to a service-based economy. This example shows how smallholders fit into that system.”

The Resident Coordinator said based on the success achieved by this farmer, the country was on course to stop importing from other countries what they can produce themselves.

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