Riot Hlatshwayo

Young people from the rural areas should return from the towns and cities to their villages to learn the old traditions of producing from the fields, according to Agriculture and Land Minister Lulu Xingwana.

Speaking during her two-day agricultural imbizo in Mpumalanga on Tuesday, Xingwana said this was one way in which the province could realise its potential of being both productive in agriculture and a booming tourism area.

The minister visited agricultural projects in Piet Retief and the densely populated Bushbuckridge area.

At the Amashangana Tribal Authority's offices on Tuesday, emerging farmers complained to Xingwana about the government's lack of commitment to helping them.

Several farmers said they were being hampered by having too few tractors and by a shortage of reservoirs necessary to improve their production.