Few success stories in farm leasing initiative

By Khulile Thwala

The leasing of farms by the government has not yielded positive results, the Ministry of Agriculture has observed.

The government owns and operates farms for varied agricultural activities and leases some of these farms to individuals, companies, and cooperatives who can undertake production in these farms.

Key to this transformation is the scaling up of more sustainable and productive agricultural practices for the million people that rely on subsistence farming for their livelihoods, over 70 per cent of eSwatini’s population.

Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture Sydney Simelane said although the leasing of farms initiative was still up and running, they had a few success stories.

“The main difficulty with most requests is that they don’t have the financial backing necessary to operate,” says Simelane.
These farms are available to all investors. As a requirement, these investors must have a business plan and financial backing to support and ensure reliance. Read More