Agriculture

MATSAPHA – Minister for Agriculture Mandla Tshawuka had to intervene after a farmer threatened to commit suicide because of NAMBoard’s rejection of her green pepper, citing strict quality standards.

Tshawuka expressed shock that the National Agricultural Marketing Board’s (NAMBoard) produce rejection policy was still in place, noting that it had been scrapped when he assumed office.

The minister criticised the policy as unfair, promising to hold talks with the Board to hear their side regarding the matter.

He then called for compensation for the farmer by the Board, stating that what happened was totally unacceptable.

“At the very least, they should negotiate the price per crate instead of rejecting the produce entirely,” he said.

Tshawuka also promised to engage with the farmer, who sounded suicidal following the rejection of her produce.

However, when the farmer was called on Thursday morning, she shared that NAMBoard reached out to her on Wednesday afternoon and they had fruitful engagements.

“We had very good engagements that will assist everyone in the future and we smoked the peace pipe,” she said briefly.

She said she had lost over E100 000 after NAMBoard rejected her produce.

NAMBoard serves as a parastatal under the Ministry of Agriculture and it provides a guaranteed market for local farmers’ produce, enabling them to sell their produce at a stable price.

It further supports farmers through extension services, input supply and training to improve productivity and quality.

Narrating her story, the farmer (name withheld), who resigned from her job in one of the banking companies last year, used her pension payout to buy land in the Lubombo Region and ventured into commercial farming.

She was at pain explaining how over E100 000 has gone down the drain after NAMBoard rejected her green pepper produce earlier this week.

She narrated that she entered into an agreement earlier this year with the parastatal, in which she was promised that her produce would be guaranteed a market.

“This was a huge relief, as it enabled me to fully focus on my farming projects without worrying about where to sell my green pepper,” she said.

She owns a two-hectare farm, which she purchased for her farming business, allowing her to diversify from the hospitality industry. According to her, she also owns guesthouses in Ngwane Park, Manzini, which she said were doing poorly due to the underperforming economy in the country.

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We can’t compromise on quality - NAMBoard

MATSAPHA – An employee from NAMBoard says the farmer’s produce was rejected because it did not meet quality standards and was harvested prematurely.

“More than 50 per cent of her produce did not meet our standards. Our Quality Department has qualified professionals whose judgment guides the acceptance or rejection of produce.

“If less than 50 per cent does not meet standards, we can select the best. Unfortunately, over 50 per cent were below our standards,” the employee said.

*Full article available in our publication. 

These are the crates belonging to a Malindza farmer, that were rejected by NAMBoard on Tuesday, citing poor quality standards. According to the farmer, the produce was eventually dumped away. (Pic: Courtesy)