Farmers empowered at Pannar Seed farmers’ day

By Sinenhlanhla Mncwango | 15 November 2024 | 3:00 pm

Pannar Seed, in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, hosted a farmers’ day to launch the 2024/25 planting season at Ya Rona Temo Farm in Vereeniging, Gauteng.

The event included presentations by Pannar Seed experts, showcasing planting machinery and technologies, and a planting demonstration by Resego Njoro, owner of Oarabile Holdings 21. The day was aimed at empowering farmers as they entered their crop planting season.

Caiphas Muyambo, developing farmer manager at Pannar Seed, spoke about the basics of crop production planning. He emphasised the importance of soil tests and explained the science behind plant production.

“A lot of farmers don’t have a production plan. To achieve a profit, you need to make sure that you minimise your costs and maximise your revenue, and you need to aim for a higher yield. You achieve that yield by choosing the right cultivar and having the right nutrition in your soil,” said Muyambo.

Reggie Mchunu, business development manager at Pannar Seed, spoke about the importance of mechanisation and precision farming. He added that farmers should pay attention to three pillars as they entered planting season: climatic conditions, soil sampling, and understanding the soil type.

Gauteng MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Vuyiswa Ramokgopa conveyed her good wishes to farmers for the planting season, encouraging them to be resilient and committed to the long journey.

“Let us not be discouraged; there will be ups and downs but we should share knowledge and gain knowledge from more experienced farmers,” she said.