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ESAFF – eSwatini had a consultative exercise in which it visited several government departments, which have a bearing on farming and agriculture. The idea was to forge links and find out as to what they were doing to assist farming and for the farmer on the ground, especially the Small Holder Farmer.

It must be stated that almost all engaged departments welcomed ESAFF and warmed up to its ideas and further pledged to cooperate with it going forward. Many did know the existence ESAFF and what is was about before this visit, but were quite pleased to know about its core mandate and how it could assist the country’s food security and nutrition needs. In the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, ESAFF- eSwatini had a long discussion with the Department of Small and Medium Enterprises. Director, Mluleki Dlamini, who was accompanied by his entire team believed the organization was rightly positioned to assist his department organize farmers into a formidable force in business. ESAFF eSwatini Coordinator Maswati Dludlu explained that the meeting was mainly to alert the department about the existence of the organisation and how it hoped to assist government in providing food security, employment and making Small Scale Farmers to fully participate and contribute to the economy. He also said ESAFF eSwatini was looking for counsel and advice on how the department could be engaged to assist farmers on the ground

Dlamini (the Director) welcomed the idea of ESAFF and pledged to support ESAFF in its endeavour to upscale the Small Scale Farmer, particularly in upgrading Small Scale Farmers to commercial level. He explained that the Ministry and his department were totally committed to all forms of business, including farming/agriculture. “The Department is about all businesses,” he emphasised, adding: “We are elated that there is are organisations that assist farmers and we are happy to hear that ESAFF is a regional organisation, which means we can draw a lot from its regional experiences.”

Dlamini then stated that it was a challenge in working with businesses operating in silos and refusing working as a team, mentioning that they preferred working with organizations as opposed to individuals. He said he wished to see Small Scale Farmers coming together to commercialise farming and meet market requirements. He noted that farming was a delicate activity requiring proper storage and packaging facilities which he said ESAFF could facilitate. He also said often Small Scale Farmers did not have proper business plans and were also found wanting in bookkeeping. He also mentioned that shops needed fresh produce from Small Scale Farmers but have always had the challenge of getting constant supplies. He was also aware about the challenges faced by Small Scale Farmers in getting payment from institutions like the National Marketing Board known for delaying payment and pledged to engage the Ministry of Agriculture on that issue so that farmers were spared from being prejudiced. Also, he said there was a need to start engaging on land use and ownership and challenged ESAFF to lead in advocating for access to land on behalf of the Small Scale Farmer.

He further challenged ESAFF to go all out and assist Small Scale Farmers to up their game and register their businesses so that his department can assist them with necessary interventions where required, stating, for instance, that they could easily organize a workshop and ask the Swaziland Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO) to dacilitate. “The department is keen to see the migration of small business into bigger enterprises,” Dlamini said, concluding by saying his department’s policy was to improve dialogue with all stakeholders, including the agriculture sector.

ESAFF eSwatini also visited the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration which houses the Community Development that is responsible for the Rural Development Fund (RDF) and the Poverty Fund through which government assists communities with funding for different approved projects. The idea was to find out as to how Small Scale Farming could best position itself to better attract assistance. The community Development officers said their core mandate was to develop the nation and were pleased to hear that ESAFF’s mandate dovetailed with what they were about. They also advised ESAFF – eSwatini to tour communities so to understand how the Community Development Office engaged people on the ground and get also to get a feel of how RDF benefited communities. They then explained the process of applying for assistance, which included forming organisations of not less than 10 individuals. However, they stated that their office was faced with a lot of challenges regarding people who abused government funds and equipment meant to assist them elevate themselves out of poverty which rendered the Poverty Funds less effective and not meeting what is was designed for. As a result, government is currently reviewing the exercise.

The Ministry of Finance promised to engage ESAFF – eSwatini once the new cabinet has been appointed, the same was said by official of the Ministry of Agriculture. ESAFF – eSwatini wanted to understand the budget circle for agriculture how the budget was knitted together so that it was able to establish at what stage it was best to influence it. The new cabinet was eventually appointed on Friday October 2, 2018 and sworn into office on Tuesday November 7, 2018.