Livingland - Episode 23
3,082 views · Published 3 March 2014 · 24:04 · Indexed 10 November 2026
Channel: SABC Education Shows · 2014 · Education
In this episode we examine the challenges and the risks faced by many start-up smallholder farmers, and we shed some light on the role of local extension officers. We visit four smallholder farms in the Matwabeng area of the Eastern Free State. This visit is in response to a letter received from the newly formed National Emergent Food and Agricultural Producers' Organisation, which is based in this area. NEFAPO addresses the problems, needs, interests and concerns of its members. Our visit to these farmers revealed some of the problems experienced by many smallholder farmers throughout the country. In this episode it becomes clear that Departments of Agriculture are mainly responsible for providing expert advice on farming matters. Any other assistance, like the provision of infrastructure and agricultural inputs, should be seen by farmers as a privilege and not a right.
