Community initiative set to boost medicinal agriculture on the KZN North Coast

South Africa’s Organic Medical Herbs Strategic Project Plan was recently launched in the iLembe District. Jyothi Laldas reports.

- Jyothi Laldas

South Africa’s Organic Medical Herbs Strategic Plan was launched in the iLembe District on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) North Coast recently with discussions around a groundbreaking initiative set to swell the agriculture sector in the district and country.

KZN MEC for Finance Peggy Nkonyeni facilitated a strategic engagement on growing organic medical herbs in communities with KZN MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Super Zuma, iLembe political, religious, business and traditional leaders, together with agriculture professionals and a select delegation from Zimbabwe who are experts in organic farming.

The district is constituted by four local, predominantly rural, municipalities: Mandeni, KwaDukuza, Ndwedwe and Maphumulo. The district seat is in KwaDukuza, which is largely urban, driven by commercial agriculture. The main economic sector in iLembe is agriculture, which directly contributes 4,47% to the economy.