The Mpumalanga premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, and the Mpumalanga MEC for agriculture, rural development, land and environmental affairs, Busi Shiba, handed over the state-of-the-art Iphakeme Grain Milling Project in Sybrand’s Kraal on April 9, to benefit Thembisile Hani and Dr JS Moroka local municipalities in the Nkangala District Municipality.
Mtshweni-Tsipane said agriculture is one of the cornerstones of the economy that contributes significantly to job creation initiatives in the province.
The installation of the maize sweeper is an intervention measure to support the group of farmers, to achieve the aspiration of job creation and economic growth. The project produces three tonnes per hour of first grade mealie meal and other types of milling products, such as mealie rice and samp.
“The project is expected to produce grain products, which among others, include maize, soya beans, sunflower, sorghum and dry beans. The full production of the pilot project will see 4 029 hectares of grain planted in Thembisile Hani and 1 063 in Dr JS Moroka. The project consists of four primary production co-operatives who took an initiative to form the Iphakeme Secondary Co-operative, previously known as Zijamele Farmers’ Co-operative.”
She said the project is premised on the district development model, which reinforces the need for co-ordinated and integrated socio-economic development in all sectors across all spheres of government, including broad-based agrarian transformation.
