MBABANE: Mancoba Khumalo, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade has officially opened a workshop on feedlot management and cattle grazing for members of the COMESA Federation of Women in Business (COMFWB) Eswatini Chapter, Government online platforms reported on Monday.
COMESA stands for the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the feedlot project was funded by COMESA and the European Union(EU).
Speaking during the official opening of the workshop, the Commerce Minister who was represented by Economic Planning Minister and Development Dr Thambo Gina said the levels of agricultural production in developing economies was largely depend on gender.
“In Eswatini, beef cattle farming is traditionally attributed to the male gender, enhancing productive superiority for males and widening rural gender-based disparities.Furthermore, female farmers in developing countries, not much less Eswatini, are confronted by a unique set of challenges that undermine their productivity. Incorporation of the gender variable allows for recommendations in support of inclusive rural economic development.Feedlot beef production presents itself as a possible solution to quite a number of challenges faced by women in beef production, this is because it eliminates the process of herding animals and there is control in backgrounding or growth phase as well as the fattening or finishing phase,” said the Minister.
De Thambo Gina who was representing the Commerce Minister Mancoba Khumalo during the workshop.