Mbabane: Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth E800 000 with Esicojeni Foundation and World Vision, which will go towards the country’s Child Headed Farming Project for the 2021/2022 farming season.
The Child Headed Household Farming project was launched in 2020 and has since benefitted 184 child-headed households, who were supplied with farm inputs, fruit trees, and tractor hire services to produce their own food. Further, housing structures were provided where necessary.
The Deputy Prime Minister said this contribution will be used for hiring tractors to plough fields for beneficiaries and sourcing farming inputs to be provided to 400 child-headed households across the four regions of the country.
Masuku noted that the current database indicates that there are 1 873 child-headed families in the country, hence the project is going to be increasing yearly to cover more households.
He said despite the number of challenges that have been faced, including harsh weather conditions and pest infestation, the project has seen some successes in most of the planted areas. He said the planting of fruit trees in each of the beneficiary homesteads will be the next intervention.
World Vision representative Banele Nkambule, highlighted that as a humanitarian organization, the signing of this MoU gives them a great opportunity to live out to the mandate of alleviating suffering and reducing vulnerability amongst the most vulnerable, including children with disability.”
Nkhambule was echoed by Esicojeni foundation representative Mongi Dlamini, who said the foundation’s main aim is to ensure that no child in Eswatini, especially those of school-going age and those who are vulnerable, go to bed hungry. He highlighted that the young children of this country are our future.
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