By Maile Matsimela

The Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) has officially launched its highly anticipated 2025 Women Entrepreneurs in Agriculture (WEA) and Youth Entrepreneurs in Agriculture (YEA) competition. This prestigious event aims to recognise and celebrate the outstanding contributions of women and young people in the agricultural sector across the province.

The competition offers various categories to accommodate agricultural entrepreneurs at different levels of operation, including, Female and Young Workers, Homestead Producers, Subsistence Producers, Smallholder Producers, Commercial Producers, Agro-processors and Exporters.

To qualify for entry, participants must meet several key requirements, such as involvement in agricultural activities for at least two years on a full-time basis, have a South African citizenship and the enterprise must be registered in the entrant’s name, while for group projects, female groups must have at least 80% women participation. Youth groups require a minimum of 51% youth involvement and must show demonstrable ownership and involvement in the management and decision-making aspects of their organisation.

Nominations for both WEA and YEA competitions must be submitted by 30 May 2025. Nomination forms are available online and at all GDARD Regional Offices across the province.

For those interested in participating, GDARD has provided the following regional contact people:

Germiston Region:
Ruth Chepape: 071 609 7461
Maboloka Chipa: 072 744 2201

Randfontein Region:
Sherly Selepe: 076 422 1981
Rirhandzu Rikhotso: 071 548 7673

Tshwane Region:
Khutsiso Sethokga: 082 490 8632
Phumzile Masuku: 073 067 0007

Provincial Coordinators:
Boipelo Tlalang: 083 513 6160
Grace Pule: 071 610 1234