It was all smiles for a group of female farmers as they received 96 goats for business farming purposes on Thursday, 19 March 2026 at Ixopo's Morningside Stadium. The MEC for the KZN Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Thembeni kaMadlopha-Mthethwa handed over these animals as part of the Goats Indigenous Programme, with each beneficiary receiving 15 Does (female goats) and a Billy goat to enhance breeding capacity and for goat meat production.

The beneficiaries hail from Johannes Phumani Phungula, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Greater Kokstad local municipalities within the Harry Gwala District. "This is a major step toward sustaining rural livelihoods through empowerment interventions such as the Indigenous Goats Programme, with hopes of seeing these beneficiaries upgrading to being commercial farmers one day."

In the current financial year, the Department has allocated over a thousand goats to the Women's Empowerment Programme, valued at R4.5 million.