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ANC extends hand of friendship to wool farmers


 ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, has extended the hand of friendship to the country's wool farmers.

He was a guest speaker today at the annual congress of the National Wool Growers Association of South Africa, taking place in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Mantashe, who also has a farm in the Eastern Cape, told commercial and communal farmers, that they are part of an economic sector and not just narrowly wool growers.


"They must exploit their opportunities, secondly they must talk to government and engage us, If doors are closed they must tell us so that we can help them kick the doors open because engaging is the the only format that can make us understand each other better. If we don't talk to each other we can only form opinions about each other" he said.

Meanwhile, the country's wool producing sector is undergoing a quiet revolution with the fruits of transformation being enjoyed by emerging and communal farmers in the Eastern Cape.

The chairperson of the National Wool Growers Association, Harry Prinsloo, says its transformation programme was introduced in 1997 and by 2001nearly 220 000 kilograms of wool from communal farmers went to market.

He told Algoa FM News that in 2012, that number had increased to more than 3.5 million kilograms of wool from emerging farmers are going to market.

"In 2001 the amount of money that was earned at that stage were about R1.5m and now in 2012 R130m was earned, and it is all foreign capitol coming into the country,"Prinsloo said