A learning environment for farmworkers’ children
Lesedi Day Care was established by Katlego Sitrus to provide a safe and nurturing environment for farmworkers’ children. Wilma den Hartigh visited the farm school near Marble Hall.
Soldier, sportsman and legendary farmer
Neville Fletcher of Cathcart in the Eastern Cape is an extraordinary man. A war veteran who saw action in the fierce Italian campaign, he returned to South Africa to enjoy...
Farmers assist students with practical training
Walter Gouveia and Kobus Schoeman believe it is up to younger farmers to break the mould of conventional farming practices and stereotypes and farm sustainably for the future. They now...
Finding a way forward for land reform in South Africa
More than two decades into South Africa’s democracy, progress in righting the wrongs of land ownership patterns established by the Natives Land Act of 1913, has been dismally slow. Moreover,...
Incentivising locals ensures livestock project’s success
Communal farmers often struggle with low birth and survival rates amongst their livestock. Determined to change this, empowerment company, Mngcunube Development, is now in its third decade of supplying animal...
Eastern Cape empowerment project’s R1,5m pineapple crop
An old Eastern Cape pineapple farm has been revitalised to provide job opportunities for the local community. This year, the first harvest is expected to earn more than R1,5 million.
ARC’s top emerging beef farmer beats the odds
Tembeka Mbeshu, the 2016 Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) Emerging Beef Farmer of the Year for the Eastern Cape, runs a herd of about 30 predominantly Bonsmara-type cows in the Elliot...
KZN community fights poverty through forestry project
A total of 7 000ha was transferred to the Mabandla community in Kwazulu-Natal as part of government’s land reform programme. The community has since established several successful ventures, including a...
Winning with wool – a top communal farmer’s story
Award-winning farmer, Goodman Ginyigazi, farms over 260 Merino sheep in the rural area of Agnes Rest, in the former Transkei. Despite communal land tenure restrictions, he generates an annual turnover...
Animal health project assists rural farmers
The Donald Woods Foundation (DWF) is working closely with subsistence and small- scale farmers in the former Transkei to boost animal health and overall food security. Grant Hollins visited the...
City girl takes on Simmentaler and sheep farming
Although Zandile Cewu grew up on a farm in the former Transkei, she never imagined she would become a full-time farmer. However, when her father died in 2013, Zandile was...
Goats revive rural farming project
A rural development project aimed at empowering female farmers is reaching new levels of success.
WHAT TO READ NEXT
Courts order municipalities to adhere to commonage rules
Two recent court rulings on commonages have outlined the rights of those using the areas, as well as the responsibilities of official custodians.
