AgriSETA boss is running the comrades

AgriSETA boss is running the Comrades

The popular Comrades Marathon is making a comeback this year, and one of the running enthusiasts is none other than AgriSETA boss, Dr Innocent Sirovha. He is dedicating his run to smallholder farmers in Mzansi.

Dr Innocent Sirovha shares a dream common to many runners. For years, the AgriSETA chief executive officer put effort and time into his bid to run in the Comrades Marathon, and on 28 August, he finally will. Running under the theme “Small-scale farmers to become commercial farmers”, he is dedicating his efforts to smallholder farmers across Mzansi.

Held for the first time since 2019, the Comrades ultramarathon will see runners from all over the world descend on Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal, to start a grueling “down run” to Durban. Though excited to run the race, Sirovha cannot help but feel a bit of apprehension.

“I might have done around 15 marathons where I failed to qualify [before]. I qualified in the last marathon of 2020 in Cape Town. I now find myself doubting my abilities [and] checking whether it [is the] right thing to [do to] run 90kms this year.”

Still, Sirovha is never one to back away from a challenge. He is running for “Small-scale farmers to become commercial farmers”, a topic that is very personal to him, and one he is intensely passionate about. He says he wants AgriSETA to have a programme that focuses on developing small-scale farmers into commercial farmers.

“Commercial farmers [also] need to have a programme of their own where they support and develop these small-scale farmers into commercial farmers. Schools that have nutritional programmes must buy their veggies from small-scale farmers, and hospitals and other government departments must buy from these commercial farmers.”

This is also known as the “township economy”, where the food and buying value chain comprises of the local economy.

Just being able to compete in the Comrades is a significant event for any runner, and for someone as determined as Sirovha, a little trepidation is part of the journey.

“When you are about to embark on a life-changing experience, you are bound to be anxious. Anxiety is normal in an abnormal environment. So, keep going. Keep forging ahead.”

Certainly, all his staff and even stakeholders are rooting for him.

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For more information, contact:

Mandy Rutgers

Head: Marketing and Communications at AgriSETA

mandy@agriseta.co.za

082 496 2457