Swazi Observer

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NMCâ€™S CONTRACT FARMING APPROACH GROWING IN LEAPS AND BOUNDS

By Qondile Ntiwane | 2019-03-20

The National Maize Corporation (NMC) is making great progress in its innovative contract farming approach aimed at improving food security in Eswatini.

Recently, the NMC awarded practical training to 10 farmers who were selected as the best. It is these farmers that the company has signed contracts with that will produce and sell maize exclusively to it.

The excelling farmers were taken to Badplaas, South Africa where they learnt new methods of farming that would qualify them to commercialise their produce.

Most farmers in Eswatini are still bent on the traditional subsistence farming and NMC has embarked on a project to encourage farmers, especially those who produce maize and beans, to commercialise their trade by farming on a large scale. NMC provides a reliable market for maize and bean farmers, and pays per ton.

The corporation’s Chief Operations Officer (COO), Cyprian Lukhele, said there was so much to gain from the use of land, and with a ready market at NMC one could lack nothing. Lukhele said the key to successful commercial farming doing it on vast pieces of land, as the higher the production, the better the income.

He said his corporation sought both quantity and quality as their aspiration was to commercialise maize farming for export not long from now.

“Our payment record speaks for itself as farmers are paid immediately once the two attributes have been fulfilled,” he said.

Skills

In South Africa the top 10 sellers learned valuable skills, such as land preparation and what machinery to use in order to achieve maximum yields.

They were also encouraged to depart from the traditional methods of farming where certain important components, like land preparation and application of soil boosters, were ignored. In South Africa, they were encouraged to commit totally to their trade, and desist from withholding funds that should be used to purchase the necessary components and machinery.

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