Young successful farmers respond to questions as part of panel discussion to empower small-scale young farmers.
LDARD Head of Department, Ms Mpho Mashamba, delivered her welcome address at the 2026 Young Entrepreneur Awards Empowerment Session.
In her address, Ms Mashamba emphasised that this year’s theme, “Planting Seeds of Excellence: Empowering Youth Through Knowledge for a Sustainable Future,” is aligned with the Department’s mandate of empowering young people through skills development and knowledge transfer as part of the agricultural sector’s transformation agenda. She noted that the empowerment session sought to realise this mandate through presentations by various industry partners and stakeholders, equipping young farmers and agripreneurs with practical knowledge and opportunities.
She further encouraged young people to work together, embrace innovation and adopt modern agricultural technologies. “We need to work together as young people, embrace technology and ensure that we apply climate-smart agricultural practices to address the challenges currently facing farmers,” she said.
Ms Mashamba highlighted the importance of collaboration in tackling youth unemployment while strengthening food security and contributing to the economic growth of Limpopo through sustainable agricultural development.
She also underscored the need for greater participation of young farmers in the agro-processing value chain, encouraging them to seize opportunities across the agricultural value chain while embracing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies to enhance productivity, competitiveness and long-term sustainability.
