In his short speech delivered in Zulu‚ he thanked businesses for their support of the programme.
He also urged small farmers and the local communities to participate in the programme so that they can put food on the table.
"I am also going to start farming when I retire in two years’ time. I have already bought boots and overalls‚" he joked.
Zuma also urged other provinces to learn from the programmes which are an intervention by the province geared towards addressing the skewed economic make-up of the region through the empowerment of the previously disenfranchised.
Operation Vula seeks to localise the economy by exploiting the government's buying power to support SMMEs and cooperatives. It will target specific societal groupings such as blacks‚ women‚ youth and people with disabilities.
The province also wants to improve the participation of small scale farmers from historically underprivileged communities in the lucrative food production market.