The Eastern Cape citrus exporting farm Sunday’s River Farming Trust won the annual Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award, taking home R375 000 in prize money, including the R125 000* in the export category.
The Eastern Cape citrus exporting farm Sunday’s River Farming Trust won the annual Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award, taking home R375 000 in prize money, including the R125 000* in the export category.
Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane and Premier Phumulo Masualle congratulated winners of the Female Entrepreneur of the Year awards during the provincial award ceremony on Thursday 6 August.
Masualle said the awards acknowledged and rewarded female excellence in agriculture to encourage them to go beyond the stars, the skies and the moon. “We congratulate those who won the awards.
Being considered alone is a sign of success because only the hard-working people are considered for the awards.
All participants are winners. They must represent us well n the national awards because the award belongs here in our province,” said Masualle.
“We hope that acknowledging your successes will encourage you to do better.
With the support given to farmers, who contribute towards our upward growth, the province will become the food basket of the country sooner.
The provincial government has supported about 378 agribusinesses with agricultural services to access markets. Women farmers must make sure that their co-operatives, trading companies and communal projects have a slice of that cake,” said Masualle.
Masualle said the province was not happy that some of the people receiving farms from the government were not using them, and called for the productive use of land.
Qoboshiyane said the province was optimistic it will keep the national Female Entrepreneur of the Year award this year.
“The awards show that women in the province are working very hard and take agriculture as a serious business. I congratulate the winners because they make the Eastern Cape province very proud.
They exhibit their hard work through the agriculture and businesses they are running. As government we encourage them to keep up the good work to have sustainable living and support their families.
We will support them all the time,” said Qoboshiyane. Provincial winners will represent the province at the national awards to be held in Durban later in August.
The success of the Sunday's River Farming Trust means that the Sarah Baartman District has bagged the title for two years in a row. Last year, Kirkwood-based citrus producer, Luthando Farm, was the overall Eastern Cape winner and went on to win the national competition with general manager Ivy Mzamo winning the 2014 Female Entrepreneur of the Year.
The awards are aimed at encouraging participation by women in agriculture, forestry and fisheries through projects that promote food security, job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation.
Representing farming co-operatives, trading companies and businesses, the women competing for the awards had been selected as the best performing female entrepreneurs and farm workers from their Eastern Cape districts in earlier rounds of the competition.
Categories included agroprocessing, rural development, value-adding, commercial farmer, smallholder, subsistence, export farmer and female farmworker of the year.
Masualle and Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC Mlibo Qoboshiyane handed over awards to the winners which included a special award to people living with disabilities who are involved in agriculture.
Speaking at the ceremony, the premier congratulated the women on their achievements, urged them not to let up on their efforts saying, "Without your role in the agricultural sector, our track record as a province with high quality, wool, mutton, mohair, fresh milk production, pineapple production, citrus fruit, deciduous fruit, berries, ostrich products, goat meat, beef and game products would diminish".
He told them they had a vital role to play in providing South Africa with nutritious food, keeping its people – especially its children – healthy and contributing to the success of the nation.
The Sundays River Farming Trust will go on to represent the Eastern Cape in the National Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in Durban later this month.
*Amount corrected from R12 000 to R125 000
