Empowerment

Farmers Kabelo and Matshidiso Mooketsi had no previous agricultural knowledge before they began working on a communal farm in 2008. Despite a lack of experience and a difficult introduction to the sector, they persisted and now run an award-winning mixed livestock operation in North West. Wayne Southwood visited them on their farm.

Becoming a farmer didn’t simply fall into Willem Klaase’s lap. He and his wife, Martha, worked hard and took risks to get where they are today. He talked to Glenneis Kriel about this journey.

Alexious Shoko, Western Cape Farm Worker of the Year, suffered setbacks and financial despair. Yet he refused to give up. He spoke to Jeandré du Preez about his inspiring journey to success.

Children in farming communities often face educational obstacles as well as lack of support and encouragement to achieve success. Charmaine Gola from the Pebbles Project spoke to Jeandré du Preez about how this non-profit organisation endeavours to ensure that every child it works with becomes a constructive contributor to society.

The Toyota New Harvest of the Year finalist for 2015, Koena Jack Moradu, has a simple yet sensible vision: to leave a legacy that will allow his children and his children’s children to continue working the soil.

Mpumalanga farmer Johannes Simelane is thankful for the agricultural expertise his late employer shared with him, and is now sharing it with others in his community.

Aviwe Gxotiwe farms with his father, Harry, on a 2 400ha irrigation farm along the Fish River in the Somerset East district, Eastern Cape. Mike Burgess visited this ambitious young man to learn about his journey to Soutvleij farm and his hopes to make it commercially viable.

Stephan Fourie of Potato Pride near Frankfort in the Free State sees his workforce and surrounding community as a responsibility not to be taken lightly. He explains his approach to Gerhard Uys.

While the South African government and the country’s white farming sector are still finding mutually acceptable ways to implement land reform, a small agri-village in the Winterton area of KwaZulu-Natal became a trendsetter decades ago.

The Mohair Empowerment Trust has launched a project aimed at establishing commercial mohair producers within a five-year period. Mike Burgess travelled with the trust’s Bongani Ndhlovu to one of four projects in the Eastern Cape’s Karoo region to find out more about its unique approach to the sustainable development of emerging farmers.

Farmer Sam Nkosi started out small, but with good management and the right support he has grown his business into a 1,5 million-broiler farming operation.

At just 24 years old, Thato Moagi is already an award-winning farmer. She spoke to Luyolo Mkentane about her mixed farming operation and plans for the future.

The Agricultural Research Council’s Eastern Cape emerging beef farmer for 2015, Sinako Ntseke, farms on three properties which collectively amount to more than 1 200ha. His passion for farming drives the development of his livestock operation.

The Suurbraak Grain Farmers’ Co-operative in the Southern Cape recently won the Western Cape Agricultural Writers’ Association’s Emerging Farmer of the Year award. The group ascribes its success to Boet Pretorius’s ‘Farming for the Future’ model.

North West farmer Salphanius Motswenyane tells Luyolo Mkentane how farming saved him from poverty. Having achieved success on a small scale he now hopes to grow his farming enterprise into a commercial operation.

Since 2003, this Eastern Cape small-scale ostrich farming project has been providing opportunities for farmers to improve their livelihoods. Having overcome stringent biosecurity requirements, the project is set to expand further. Grant Hollins met with Klein Karoo Group Transformation Trust board member, Johannes Jacobs, to learn more.

When Simon Txoanyana – a retired SANDF member – decided to farm in 1999, he realised he couldn’t afford a commercial farm. Mike Burgess spoke to him about how he instead became a successful communal sheep farmer near Goshen in the former Ciskei, Eastern Cape.

Frans Malela from Limpopo gave up his city job to farm full time. With no government help, he became an award-winning farmer, growing maize then cotton on leased land. Today, he mentors others.

Entrepreneur Gugu Mlipha went from being a hawker to an award-winning agro-processing farmer with a turnover of R2,4 million/year. Despite her success, she remains firmly hands-on, even driving her company’s delivery truck.

A poor, deeply rural Eastern Cape community is on the brink of enjoying a revival, thanks to a project to establish a commercial farming operation amongst communal farmers. The venture is financed by investment company Wiphold.