Agriculture can save our economy - King
MALKERNS – His Majesty King Mswati III has said agriculture has great potential to resuscitate the country’s economy.
He made the observation after touring Tibiyo Taka-Ngwane farms at Mal-kerns, yesterday.
All Tibiyo’s farming busi-nesses are managed by Dalcrue Agricultural Hold-ings, which is a company owned by Tibiyo.
Dalcrue produces a wide range of products including sugar cane, mealie meal, fruits, vegetables, beef, milk and beans.
"Today’s event is clear tes-timony that we have great potential to produce eno-ugh food for ourselves.
"Agriculture remains the backbone of our economic growth and we need to harness this potential to the maximum," he said.
His Majesty said the extent of farming activities at Dalcrue and the quality of produce brought a glimp-se of hope to the nation, which needed commitment from all citizens.
Challenges
He said this was an indication that despite of the numerous economic chal-lenges currently faced by the country, the nation could turn around its misfortunes around through hard work and dedication.
The King recounted that during the Smart Partnership National Dialogues, the nation emphasised the urgent need to address the current challenge of food production.
"The sad part is that we cannot even produce our staple crops such as maize, sorghum and beans to mention a few," he said.
His Majesty applauded Tibiyo for playing a pivotal role in improving food sufficiency in the country.
He noted that the organi-sation has partnered with other stakeholders such as the Umbutfu Swaziland Defence Force (USDF) and the University of Swaziland, Luyengo campus.
Earlier, Tibiyo’s Managing Director Themba Dlamini took the King on a tour of the farm.
He also pointed out, to His Majesty, a portion of maize field that was cultivated by the USDF. During the guided tour, the King would pose questions to Dlamini and other employees on activities of the farm.
Weeded
In one of the questions, His Majesty wanted to know why a certain portion of maize field had not been weeded.
Dlamini responded that it would be expensive to weed adding that they will spray the ‘foreign’ plants.
He said spraying was cheaper.
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Reginald Msimango
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18/05/2013 12:46:09
Bheki Dlamini
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18/05/2013 08:57:26
jakes
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18/05/2013 07:39:17
Falakhe
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18/05/2013 06:16:06
Palesa Bunandzibemalangeni Dlamini
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18/05/2013 01:24:08