F State cooperative asks for release of farming equipment from govt

Members of the Sediba Irrigation Scheme Cooperative in Thaba Nchu, in the Free State have called on the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to release farming equipment worth R13.9 million. The equipment has been sitting idle at the Sediba Trust village since 2020.

This is after the keys to the equipment were taken by some officials and they rented out some of the equipment to other established farmers without residents seeing a cent.

The equipment includes two tractors, a harvester and other farming equipment which was meant to empower the community and create jobs for the locals, through the upgrade of the Sediba Irrigation Scheme.

The community is crying foul and believes officials in the department are trying to dispossess them illegally.

Mothowagosele Kganare is part of the Sediba Irrigation System,”This project is the revitalisation of Sediba Irrigation Scheme, after the completion of the project there was another project of farmer production support unit, that’s when they started saying there is no longer an irrigation project. So, the department failed us.”

Meanwhile, the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform in the province has refuted the cooperative’s claims.

It says the equipment was never handed over to the Sediba community.

They say the equipment was instead given to the Sediba Secondary Cooperative which includes 29 cooperatives in 12 villages around Thaba Nchu.

Kegomoditswe Modutwane from Cooperative Enterprise Development under the Department of Rural Development says the Farmer Production Support Unit was aimed at supporting farmers within the 50km radius of Thaba Nchu.

“The community of Sediba closed the centre on the 16th of May 2022 because they didn’t want to utilise the implements according to the provisions and conditions of the Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSU) policy which prescribe that, one, they should hire the implements like other farmers as a per prescribed tariffs. Two, the FPSU is for all the farmers in the villages within the 50km radius, but they wanted the implements to be under the control and management of the Sediba village only.”