Agriculture industry transforming to give women, youth more access: Agri Dept
JOHANNESBURG - The deputy director general for Agri-Production and Biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture, Dipepeneneng Serage, said work is being done to transform the industry to give women and youth access to farming opportunities.
Serage commented on the sidelines of the G20 agricultural working group in Durban on Friday.
At the three-day meeting, delegates from the G20 member states discussed the four top priorities for 2025.
Serage said existing agricultural and land reform policies cannot have conflicting agendas.
'The mandate of land reform and land administration is to make sure that there is land that is taken care of and available, and then what happens on that land becomes our competency with the provincial department, so that has paved the perfect opportunity for us to work together.'
He said it's important to break stereotypes to bring diversity to a male-dominated industry.
'We are being very intentional to make sure that we prioritise, and we focus on women. They must have access to land, and if they do, they are supported in the form of funding, in the form of training, and in the form of them accessing markets.'
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