Fifty tons of hyacinth compost were handed out to emerging farmers.

Hya Matla, the company contracted to remove hyacinth from the Hartbeespoort Dam, and Magalies Water handed out over 50 tons of organic compost made from hyacinth removed from the dam to local emerging farmers in Madibeng.
The compost was distributed to farmers registered with Madibeng municipality’s Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture (LED).
The organic, chemical-free compost is made from hyacinth that was removed from Hartbeespoort Dam by HyaMatla. Each farmer received 20 bags equalling a ton of compost.
Hya Matla was contracted by Magalies Water to manually remove hyacinth from Hartbeespoort Dam and process it into organic compost as part of Magalies Water’s Hartbeespoort Dam Rehabilitation Project.
“The project has nine pillars for the management of the dam and its catchment area. The first of those pillars is the management of alien invaders through manual harvesting, turning what is a problem and a nuisance into a resource that benefits local agriculture and the economy,” said Prof. Vhahangwele Masindi who is the Project Manager for the Hartbeespoort Dam Rehabilitation Project.
The project will run for three years. It affects three wards in Madibeng and has employed 21 people from these wards. Madibeng Municipality expressed its gratitude for the project that is giving back to the local economy and agriculture. Cllr Motladi of LED Modipane said that one of the areas of focus in the North West is the improvement of the agricultural sector economy. She encouraged farmers to grow the sector so that Madibeng could have its own fresh produce market.
Hya Matla and Magalies Water will periodically hand out hyacinth compost as it becomes available to emerging farmers who are registered with the LED at Madibeng and are actively planting and growing crops.