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The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in partnership with Total South Africa hosted the annual DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards (FEA) at a gala dinner at the Durban Botanical Gardens on Thursday, 27 August 2015.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the awards under the theme “Uniting to empower women to achieve economic freedom through agriculture, forestry and fisheries”.

During his speech, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr Zokwana highlighted that women play a significant role in economic subsistence of their families, providing them with shelter, producing food, and acting as primary caregivers, preparing meals for their families, walking long distances to fetch fire wood and water, and the list continues.

In his congratulatory remarks Minister Senzeni Zokwana said, “We congratulate all our nominees “You are all Winners”. Minister Zokwana added, “Expanding the productivity of women in agriculture is not simply a nice to have, but a necessary and strategic choice unlocking agriculture as a catalyst for radical socio-economic transformation”.

In his address, the MD & CEO of Total South Africa Christian des Closières said, “We commend the women in the agricultural sector for the role they play in food security, job creation and contributing towards the economy of the country. “They overcame insurmountable odds and turned agriculture into a thriving business,” he added.

The DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards (FEA) awards commence at a provincial level and culminate in the national awards. The initiative was conceptualised to encourage and increase the participation of women, youth and people living with disabilities in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors.

Furthermore, the initiative is aimed at rewarding the efforts and contribution of women, youth and people with disabilities in matters of food security, job creation, economic growth and poverty alleviation. DAFF FEA is a joint venture between DAFF, provinces and key stakeholders in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors commencing at a provincial level and culminating in the main event at national level.

The award ceremony has the overall winner and the following nine category winners, namely; best female worker, best subsistence producer, top entrepreneur: smallholder, top entrepreneur: processing, top entrepreneur: commercial, top entrepreneur: export markets and two ministerial awards for young and disabled female entrepreneurs in the sectors.

The awards categories and winners are:

•     Best Female Worker in the Sector is Kelebogile Reah Mampe
•     Best Subsistence Producer in the Sector is Tenjiwe Christina Kaba
•     Top Entrepreneur in the Sector: Smallholder is Nompumelelo Mdlalose
•     Top Entrepreneur Processing in the Sector is Julia Shungube
•     Top Female Entrepreneur in the Sector: Commercial is Hlengiwe Hlophe
•     Top Entrepreneur in the Sector: Export Markets is Buyiswa Marrie Ndyenga

The Minister’s Special Award for Disabled Entrepreneur went to Avryl Cox. This award affords the Minister an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of young women and women living with disabilities who are entrepreneurs. The Minister’s Special Award for Youth went to Nompumelelo Mdlalose. This award recognises emerging young farmer entrepreneurs.

The 2015/16 Overall Winner is Julia Shungube from Mpumalanga. She will be in this position up until August 2016 when the new overall winner will be announced.

Issued by Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries