Neftaly 2025 Agriculture Day Speech

By Neftaly Chief Development Officer- Regaugetswe Netshiozwe

Distinguished Guests, Partners, Colleagues, and Neftaly Family,
Good morning.

It is an honour to stand before you today on Neftaly Agriculture Day 2025, a moment of reflection and celebration as we recognise agriculture not only as a source of food, but as a powerful engine of human development, social equity, and economic transformation.

As Chief Development Officer at Neftaly, I have the privilege of leading programmes and strategies that turn potential into progress — and nowhere is that potential more alive than in the fields, hands, and hearts of Africa’s farmers.

At Neftaly, we view agriculture through a development lens — as a pathway to achieve employment, food security, youth empowerment, gender equality, and climate resilience. Our mission is to ensure that no community is left behind, and that every agricultural intervention contributes to broader goals of sustainability and dignity.

In 2025, we’ve scaled impactful development initiatives:

• Expanded agripreneurship development programmes, providing youth and women with resources, mentorship, and skills to build agricultural businesses
• Strengthened our Work Integrated Learning (WIL) partnerships with institutions like the University of Johannesburg, creating bridges between education and the real economy
• Integrated climate-smart development models, ensuring that farmers not only grow more — but grow smarter, safer, and more sustainably
• And above all, focused on inclusive, community-led development, because the people we serve are not beneficiaries — they are partners in progress.

Agriculture is more than planting crops. It’s about planting hope, dignity, and opportunity. It’s about transforming rural areas into hubs of innovation, productivity, and pride.

To our partners — your collaboration fuels this journey.
To our field teams — your work brings development to life.
And to every farmer, intern, and community leader — your courage and resilience inspire all of us.

Let us leave here today with renewed energy to develop systems, build partnerships, and invest in people. Because when we grow agriculture, we grow Africa.

Happy Neftaly Agriculture Day 2025.
Let’s keep growing, together.

Thank you.