Empowerment

Due to poor management, many agricultural co-ops across the country are struggling. Zivuseni Agricultural Co-operative outside Nigel in the East Rand is an exception. Thanks to good discipline, the business is thriving - and mixed farming makes the co-op's prospects even brighter. Peter Mashala reports.

André Cloete, an apple, pear and sheep farmer from the Overberg, is this year’s recipient of the fruit industry’s Novice Award. Thanks to hard work and attention to detail, André supplies apples and pears for export through Tru-Cape and Two-a-Day and achieves high yields. But he’s reluctant to invest too much in the farm because government has been slow to grant him a long-term lease, as Denene Erasmus found out.

The Jagpan Vernootskap Boerdery is a mentorship programme that's successfully partnered four emerging farmers in a Dorper sheep enterprise that's won many awards. But Jagpan's farming future isn't secure, because government won't let the group buy the leased land it's been farming on. Heather Dugmore visited them.

Johannes Tshoke has risen above stock theft, the problems of farming on communal land, a lack of money and other challenges to get his own farm. He is now set on becoming a commercial farmer in the hope of leaving a legacy for his children. Peter Mashala visited him.

The pig farmer can ensure maximum survival by understanding and meeting the piglets' needs.

Co-operatives must reward members who work harder on the co-operative's behalf and deal with members who try to get away with the least amount of work.

Niklaas Slinger, the Agricultural Writers Emerging Farmer of the Year, never went to school. He was a farmworker for the Theron family for 20 years, and when Jan Theron died, Niklaas helped his widow run the farm. When Jan’s son JP grew up he helped Niklaas buy his own farm, where he won through to become one of SA’s top 20 rooibos producers.

The Limpopo agriculture department brought in two small-scale chicken farmers to take over a failed land reform project.

Commercial farmer Johannes Fourie and his farmworkers, from Groblershoop in the Northern Cape, have proven that successful BEE farming is possible in South Africa. The Sanddraai Arbeidsgenot BEE farming project came into being in 2002 and has gone from strength to strength, producing grapes, pecan nuts and lucerne. Willem Block, one of the directors, says it’s all due to prayer, cooperation, communication and strict financial discipline.

From restaurant manager to Grain SA's 2010 Developing Grain Producer of the Year - how did William Matasane from Senekal do it? The secret to his success is chasing profits, he told Annelie Coleman, when she visited his farm Verblyden in the Free State.

Many land reform farms have collapsed, so are there any that work? The Free State Agriculture Land Reform Success Day showcased some successful land reform farms. Peter Mashala reports.

Dirkie Willemse, an emerging farmer from Suurbraak, and his mentor Dirk van Papendorp, a livestock and crop farmer, have learnt through experience that the state's land reform and farmer support programmes don't take timeliness in agricultural production into account.

This highly contagious disease originated in the Rift Valley of East Africa, and occurred for the first time in South Africa during the 1950's.

After losing his job four years ago, textile worker Mike Moloto set out to provide for his family by starting a farming operation. Initially, things were tough, but he made a go of it, despite struggling to compete against larger enterprises. Peter Mashala visited him on his plot in Soshanguve.

Groundnuts is a drought-toleraGroundnuts are rich in protein and can be eaten raw, cooked or roasted. The upright types are mostly cultivated under drier conditions, while the runner kinds are often irrigated.

is a serious poultry disease and can affect any kind of poultry operation, from backyard production to large commercial poultry farms.

It's very upsetting knowing you have to pay an account when you don't know where the money is going to come from. That's why keeping track of your expenses is so important, writes Susan Pletts.

Some 13 years after the Tafelkop Farmers Association "invaded" an unused irrigation scheme in Groblersdal, they still haven't acquired the title deeds promised to them by the then minister of agriculture Derek Hanekom, and a once flourishing agricultural project is now in shambles. Peter Mashala visited the farmers to find out what went wrong.

After 25 years of trading and farming in Elliotdale in the former Transkei, Zolani Tyali eventually settled on Brooklyn, a commercial farm near Morgan’s Bay in the Eastern Cape. He transferred most of the family’s Ngunis to the new farm and improved his herd by introducing bulls acquired from farmers belonging to the East Cape Nguni Club. But without fencing on his farm, that herd’s integrity is at risk.

Poverty alleviation and improved food security in KwaZulu-Natal has found an ally in the tasty and sought-after oyster mushroom. With help from the Chinese government, KwaDindi residents are now diversifying their diets and earning much-needed cash.