{"id":79061,"date":"2025-10-09T15:38:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season"},"modified":"2025-10-09T16:55:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T16:55:34","slug":"govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season","title":{"rendered":"Govt Ready to Support Farmers for 2025\/2026 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>The 2025\/2026 ploughing season, locally known as Phezukomkhono, officially commenced with optimism as widespread rainfall has blessed the nation, bringing hope for a successful harvest.<\/b><\/p>\n

Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Mandla Tshawuka, called on farmers to take full advantage of the favourable weather conditions and begin planting early. He said this during the media briefing to announce the commencement of the ploughing season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government is committed to supporting our hardworking farmers,\u201d said Minister Tshawuka. \u201cThrough the National Maize Corporation (NMC), extension officers, and other initiatives, we aim to make farming more accessible and productive for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the Input Subsidy Program, NMC has published a full list of accredited agro-dealers, now expanded across regions to ensure easier access. Farmers can select one crop input maize, beans, or sorghum without any cap, provided it fits within their budget. \u201cThis program is designed to uplift those who truly need assistance,\u201d Minister Tshawuka emphasized.<\/p>\n

The Minister mentioned that this year, 8 670 farmers successfully qualified for support a 28% increase from last year\u2019s 6 079 beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

To complement this, NMC has 153 functional tractors and has contracted 212 additional units from private operators, bringing the total to 365 tractors. Planters have increased from 15 last year to 45, with more still being secured to reach a target of 65 for the season. Specialized equipment is also available upon request.<\/p>\n

Weather forecasts are favorable, encouraging farmers to begin early planting, particularly beans for the second leg of the season in February. \u201cThis aligns with our mandate to ensure food security for all Emaswati,\u201d Minister Tshawuka noted.<\/p>\n

Additionally, NMC CEO Mavela Vilane revealed that 515 hectares are ready for ploughing, with farmers able to access services on credit through the Hamba Ubuye program. Farmers will repay the hours ploughed when selling their maize to NMC, ensuring wider access to land preparation services.<\/p>\n

Minister Tshawuka encouraged farmers to embrace the opportunities this season offers, urging them to work diligently while adhering to good practices. \u201cWith the government\u2019s continued support and the dedication of our farmers, we are confident that this ploughing season will be successful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. The 2025\/2026 ploughing season, locally known as Phezukomkhono, officially commenced with optimism as widespread rainfall has blessed the nation, bringing hope for a successful harvest. Minister of Agriculture, Honourable Mandla Tshawuka, called on farmers to take full advantage of the favourable weather conditions and begin planting early. He said this during the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":79060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-79061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nGovt Ready to Support Farmers for 2025\/2026 Season - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2025\/2026 ploughing season, locally known as Phezukomkhono, officially commenced with optimism as widespread rain ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Govt Ready to Support Farmers for 2025\/2026 Season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The 2025\/2026 ploughing season, locally known as Phezukomkhono, officially commenced with optimism as widespread rain ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T15:38:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-09T16:55:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/10\/sm_1760015791.381937.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Govt Ready to Support Farmers for 2025\/2026 Season\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-09T15:38:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-09T16:55:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\"},\"wordCount\":359,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/10\/sm_1760015791.381937.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/govt-ready-to-support-farmers-for-2025-2026-season\",\"name\":\"Govt Ready to Support Farmers for 2025\/2026 Season - 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