{"id":46997,"date":"2023-07-06T13:42:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T11:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T00:41:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T22:41:22","slug":"mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/","title":{"rendered":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, used the handing over of beef master castle to livestock farmers as an opportunity to encourage them to graduate from being emerging farmers into commercial farming, saying that this was the main reason government was supporting farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe encourage farmers to treat this not only as a hobby, but also as business. They must know that farming is business, and they must be able to make money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey must be able to graduate from being emerging farmers to commercial farmers; that is why we are assisting them,\u201d said Pieters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She said the department was handing over 116 heifers, 16 bulls and 11 calves to farmers from Alfred Nzo, Amathole District Municipality, Chris Hani and Joe Gqabi and Sarah Baartman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe type of breed that we are handing over is beef master, so we have managed to buy only beef masters in the last financial year and we are handing those over to the farmers,\u201d said Pieters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pieters said what she likes about farmers who benefited is that many people benefit, including females and young people, saying that this shows that women and young people are getting into the farming business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div 'helvetica=\"\" arial;font-size:16px;white-space-collapse:preserve;background-color:#fcfcfb;\"=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"eiigg\" data-offset-key=\"715i-0-0\" helvetica,=\"\" neue',=\"\" pro',=\"\" sans=\"\" source=\"\">\n<div class=\"public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr\" data-offset-key=\"715i-0-0\">\n<div>\n<div 'helvetica=\"\" arial;font-size:16px;white-space-collapse:preserve;background-color:#fcfcfb;\"=\"\" data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"eiigg\" data-offset-key=\"8lb2r-0-0\" helvetica,=\"\" neue',=\"\" pro',=\"\" sans=\"\" source=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the young people who received 10 beef master heifers and one bull, Nosipho Vuthela,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe livestock we got from the department will help us to improve the production, also the quality and the quantity of the products we are supplying. The department helped us so much; honestly, we will improve,\u201d said Vuthela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vuthela said that their business, which is leasing a farm, is now looking for a farm so they can expand their livestock farming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She listed stock theft as one of the major challenges that can be solved by acquiring a farm suitable for commercial livestock production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-issued-by-drdar\">ISSUED BY DRDAR<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, used the handing over of beef master castle to livestock farmers as an opportunity to encourage them to graduate from being emerging farmers into commercial farming, saying that this was the main reason government was supporting farmers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":46604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"e66193b6-0598-4908-9656-305426924fdd","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"","article_feature_type":"","article_main_image_caption":"","article_media_icon":"","article_template":"","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":[],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-46997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high | Mthatha Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, used the handing over of beef master castle to livestock farmers as an opportunity to encourage them to graduate from being emerging farmers into commercial farming, saying that this was the main reason government was supporting farmers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mthatha Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mthatha Express\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EP_Media24\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EP_Media24\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mthatha Express\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1\"},\"headline\":\"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":208,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#respond\"]}],\"copyrightYear\":\"2023\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/\",\"name\":\"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high | Mthatha Express\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Image for illustration purposes. Photo: Archives\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"description\":\"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/03\\\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Mthatha Express\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MthathaExpress\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/EP_Media24\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/express_newspapers\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/@expressonline3000\"],\"description\":\"Mthatha Express has been the eyes, ears, and voice of Mthatha and surrounding towns and villages for almost a decade. Established with the goal of keeping our community informed, we have grown into one of the most trusted local news sources in the region, with 70,000 free copies delivered across the former Transkei area every week. It is also distributed once a month in East London.\",\"email\":\"mthathaexpress@novusmedia.co.za\",\"telephone\":\"+27472932973\",\"legalName\":\"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd\",\"foundingDate\":\"2025-01-01\",\"vatID\":\"4100318916\",\"taxID\":\"2000\\\/018234\\\/07\",\"numberOfEmployees\":{\"@type\":\"QuantitativeValue\",\"minValue\":\"51\",\"maxValue\":\"200\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1\",\"name\":\"Mthatha Express\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mthatha Express\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/novanews.co.za\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/author\\\/mthathaexpress\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high | Mthatha Express","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high","og_description":"Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, used the handing over of beef master castle to livestock farmers as an opportunity to encourage them to graduate from being emerging farmers into commercial farming, saying that this was the main reason government was supporting farmers.","og_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/","og_site_name":"Mthatha Express","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/","article_published_time":"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1440,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Mthatha Express","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EP_Media24","twitter_site":"@EP_Media24","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mthatha Express","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/"},"author":{"name":"Mthatha Express","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1"},"headline":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high","datePublished":"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/"},"wordCount":208,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#respond"]}],"copyrightYear":"2023","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/","name":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high | Mthatha Express","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","datePublished":"2023-07-06T11:42:53+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-20T22:41:22+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","width":1440,"height":1080,"caption":"Image for illustration purposes. Photo: Archives"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-encourages-farmers-to-fly-high-20230704\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC encourages farmers to fly high"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#website","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/","name":"Mthatha Express","description":"To Inform, Engage and Empower Local Communities","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#organization","name":"Mthatha Express","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mthatha-express-site-icon.png","width":512,"height":512,"caption":"Mthatha Express"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MthathaExpress\/","https:\/\/x.com\/EP_Media24","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/express_newspapers\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@expressonline3000"],"description":"Mthatha Express has been the eyes, ears, and voice of Mthatha and surrounding towns and villages for almost a decade. Established with the goal of keeping our community informed, we have grown into one of the most trusted local news sources in the region, with 70,000 free copies delivered across the former Transkei area every week. It is also distributed once a month in East London.","email":"mthathaexpress@novusmedia.co.za","telephone":"+27472932973","legalName":"Novus Media (Pty) Ltd","foundingDate":"2025-01-01","vatID":"4100318916","taxID":"2000\/018234\/07","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"51","maxValue":"200"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/#\/schema\/person\/7e2772c1748d510e0433368691b50bb1","name":"Mthatha Express","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16bf7f093f8719629b4d16068cd9ee79b087e706ae5cedc7dd95db655da066a3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mthatha Express"},"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/author\/mthathaexpress\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cbadff8d1b3d4eb7b69732c9c0ef7c5e.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46752,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/farmers-receive-shearing-shed-dohne-merinos-from-drdar-20230801-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":0},"title":"Farmers receive shearing shed, Dohne Merinos from DRDAR","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"3 August 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Elated subsistence sheep farmer, Nowandile Mbana (60) of Mafini Village in Libode, under Nyandeni Local Municipality, has described the Dohne Merino ram she received from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) as","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/9749e714d22142f49608c26d6d50ecca.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45825,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/pieters-delivers-on-promise-of-tractors-to-farmers-20231205\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":1},"title":"Pieters delivers on promise of tractors to farmers","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"7 December 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, has delivered on her promise to give farmers under the OR Tambo District tractors to boost agricultural production in the district.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8811f297a7b4edcbb97f8f2eeb3fcc3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8811f297a7b4edcbb97f8f2eeb3fcc3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8811f297a7b4edcbb97f8f2eeb3fcc3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8811f297a7b4edcbb97f8f2eeb3fcc3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/e8811f297a7b4edcbb97f8f2eeb3fcc3.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45464,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/farmers-given-cattle-goats-as-part-of-the-livestock-improvement-scheme-20240220\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":2},"title":"Farmers given cattle, goats as part of the livestock improvement scheme","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"22 February 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastern Cape premier, Oscar Mabuyane, and Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, have handed over quality breed cattle and goats to smallholder and communal farmers, as part of commercialising and growing livestock production","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f03331b136ec48b78bdd2748a8aa3577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f03331b136ec48b78bdd2748a8aa3577.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f03331b136ec48b78bdd2748a8aa3577.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f03331b136ec48b78bdd2748a8aa3577.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/f03331b136ec48b78bdd2748a8aa3577.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":46053,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/drdar-hands-over-tractor-implements-to-young-farmer-20231107\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":3},"title":"DRDAR hands over tractor, implements to young farmer","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"9 November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Eastern Cape Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, says government is on a mission to ensure that there are black commercial farmers, through the support her department is providing them to improve their businesses to make mo","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0bf7c9a9f0d64989876358ffb4d5da7a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0bf7c9a9f0d64989876358ffb4d5da7a.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0bf7c9a9f0d64989876358ffb4d5da7a.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0bf7c9a9f0d64989876358ffb4d5da7a.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0bf7c9a9f0d64989876358ffb4d5da7a.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50836,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/mec-launches-crop-programme-in-mthatha-20211019\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":4},"title":"MEC launches crop programme in Mthatha","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"21 October 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR), Nonkqubela Pieters, launched a crop programme at Upper Tabase Village in Mthatha, last week.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/eb42076a37e74ecab80b1fe295c70b18.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":46457,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/farmers-to-receive-tractors-to-boost-agricultural-production-20230912\/","url_meta":{"origin":46997,"position":5},"title":"Farmers to receive tractors to boost agricultural production","author":"Mthatha Express","date":"15 September 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) announced that it would soon hand over 21 tractors to farmers under the OR Tambo District Municipality, to boost agricultural production.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/82bd96aa42594379b28412e2df6b2103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/82bd96aa42594379b28412e2df6b2103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/82bd96aa42594379b28412e2df6b2103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/82bd96aa42594379b28412e2df6b2103.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Mthatha Express","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46997"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=46997"},{"taxonomy":"publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication?post=46997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}