News

Industries

Companies

Jobs

Events

People

Video

Audio

Galleries

My Biz

Submit content

My Account

Advertise with us

Trust will support emerging Angora farmers

According to Business Report, the Mohair Empowerment Trust (MET), an empowerment trust established by the South African mohair industry, will assist previously excluded emerging Angora goat farmers to receive mentorship, training and financial assistance, helping them to become active participants in the industry.

The trust aims to raise at least R2 million and use the money to hire mentors and buy rams for farmers, said MET development officer Bongani Ndhlovu.

"The trust will ensure that farmers have quality rams and are empowered through training and mentorship," Ndhlovu told Business Report, adding that farmers will be trained on how to manage farms on their own and be financially independent. The trust would target farmers in rural communities and people who lived on communal land. The project would also rely on land reform, and agrarian reform for infrastructural development. Land would be provided for agricultural beneficiaries, Ndhlovu said.

South Africa produces about half of the world's total mohair clip but, as the global clip was declining, it was essential that more farmers were encouraged to farm with Angora goats, Ndhlovu said. In addition, only 4.9 million kilograms of mohair were produced worldwide and the emerging sector was regarded as a vital link in turning the production trend around. "The empowerment trust ensures that well-resourced emerging farmers graduate to commercial Angora goat farming, (accelerating the inclusion of) black entrepreneurs (and creating) more sustainable job opportunities for farm workers," Ndhlovu concluded.

Read the full article on www.iol.co.za.

Let's do Biz