Mbali Hlophe

“Top of my priority list is to really get agriculture out there, so that our people do not see it as something for the homelands or rural areas, so when people come to Gauteng, they view themselves as advanced and they think of agriculture as the thing of yesterday when it is not. Agriculture is the future. We all eat every day”

“We want to make sure that Gauteng stamp its authority in terms of agriculture, but also grow in agro-processing”

“People [have come to know the] department of social development to be [just] about [giving] out food parcels. The challenge that we face is that we got agriculture on the other side. We need to massify and make the two departments work together as part of bringing about social economic development. Giving out food parcels is not sustainable, but empowering people to create their own food is where agriculture becomes critical as they are able to feed themselves for a lifetime.”

“It has been great. As you know, premier Lesufi has combined the two departments, so it has been very interesting to get the two departments to work together, understanding that primary to the work that they need to do, is to answer the issue of food security in the province.”