MBABANE – The Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (EWADE) has entered 2026 with renewed momentum, deepening partnerships, expanding farmer support programmes and strengthening institutional capacity.
This comes as the organisation is aiming to accelerates efforts to secure Eswatini’s food system and rural livelihoods.
According to the third edition of Umtfutfukisi, EWADE’s quarterly newsletter, EWADE’s work over the past quarter reflects a deliberate shift from isolated interventions to integrated, market-oriented agricultural development that places smallholder farmers at the centre of national economic transformation.
At the heart of this approach is the Smallholder Agricultural Productivity Enhancement and Marketing Project (SAPEMP), which continues to scale up its impact through strategic collaboration across government and development partners.
Under SAPEMP, EWADE recently signed new memoranda of understanding with key institutions, including the Eswatini Environment Authority, the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, the National Maize Corporation (NMC) and the Ministry of Tinkhundla Administration and Development.
These agreements build on earlier MoUs with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office and NAMBoard, effectively expanding SAPEMP’s footprint across policy, environmental management, market access and decentralised development structures.
EWADE Chief Executive Officer Dr Samson Sithole described SAPEMP as a national transformation programme targeting more than 19 600 smallholder households and an estimated 117 700 people nationwide.
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Hamba Ubuye fund scaled up
MBABANE – Parallel to SAPEMP’s market-focused interventions, EWADE has continued to scale up its flagship Hamba Ubuye Revolving Fund.
The organisation, through this fund is reinforcing domestic maize production and reducing reliance on imports.
During the quarter, farmers across the country received production inputs, marking the start of the 2025/26 planting season.
Supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Maize Corporation, the programme operates on a revolving fund model, enabling farmers to access inputs while ensuring sustainability for future seasons.
Women and youth feature prominently among beneficiaries, underscoring EWADE’s commitment to inclusive agricultural growth.
The scale-up of Hamba Ubuye is evident in the production targets set for the current season. While the initiative began in 2021 with 17 farmers cultivating 172 hectares and harvesting 595 tonnes, it has since expanded to support 248 farmers farming 861 hectares.
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