Page 12 - Our Land

OUR LAND 12

Harvesting

wealth from

the soil

DAVID MANDAHA

abelani Mamangwa has transformed the piece of land
she inherited from her grandmother into the “Eden of
R Limpopo”.
The 32-year-old farmer wanted to be a nurse, but didn’t
have the money to study.
“It was my dream to become a nurse until I found my
passion in farming. I don’t think I will leave this career; I live,
dream and eat farming. I really wish many young black
women could see farming as a business and seize the
opportunities available in this sector,” she said.
Those who are familiar with Mianzwi village, where
Mamangwa grew up and runs her farm, will tell you that the
area has arable land, but lacks much-needed resources.
In her quest to get more young people involved in the
sector, Mamangwa empowers youngsters in her community
with the skills required to succeed.
She does this despite the stumbling blocks that emerging
farmers face.
These include a lack of
financial support to enable
aspiring young black farmers
– especially those in rural
areas – to build assets, invest
in technology and increase
productivity in the sector.
Lack of proper road
infrastructure, no access to
water and the difficultly of
getting equipment, such as
tractors, make it difficult for
young farmers in remote
villages to sustain a career.
Mamangwa is now one of
the most recognisable HATCHING A PLAN Mbalentle Sipengane has grown the family business into a viable and profitable entity PHOTO: LEBOGANG MOLOTE
farmers in the area, but
when she started farming 15
years ago, she didn’t imagine
that she would one day
become a successful farmer. A flair for farming
And many people she
encountered didn’t take her
seriously.
“I have always enjoyed
farming and considered it a
hidden talent. However, I
never considered doing it on She wanted to be a fashion designer, but Mbalentle Sipengane showed she wasn’t
a full-time basis,” she says.
“When I started, people chicken to take on the family farm, write Fanelo Maseko and Isaac Khumalo
thought I was playing and
that I wouldn’t make it. Many
of my peers preferred doing ince taking over the running of her family’s poultry farm two years ago, 24-year-old
office work; I wanted to do RABELANI Mbalentle Sipengane has more than doubled the farm’s turnover.
the dirty work. Farming is MAMANGWA Armed with the agricultural degree her parents encouraged her to get, she is proof
exciting and I always that hard work, innovation and determination lead to success in the competitive
encourage them, especially girls, to take agriculture seriously. world of farming.
“There are many business opportunities in this field, but S Sipengane runs Monzai Eggs, a poultry farm on a plot outside Vanderbijlpark. The
only for hard workers. The sooner we start realising that farm produces more than 31 857 trays of eggs a year, allowing Sipengane to generate an annual
money comes from the soil, the better,” says Mamangwa. turnover of more than R1.4 million.
Despite not having any formal agricultural education or The farm belongs to the land reform department and has been leased to her parents’ company,
funding, Mamangwa has managed to turn her 1.5 hectare Monzai Eggs Poultry Farm, since 2004. They acquired the farm from a white family in 2000.
inheritance into her livelihood. A native of Vanderbijlpark in the Vaal, Sipengane’s unexpected passion for farming was instilled
She produces cabbages, tobacco and other crops. She in her by her parents, who struggled to keep Monzai Eggs Poultry Farm going over the years.
supplies local retailers, community members and school “My parents had to overcome a lot of barriers as black farmers because it’s a white-dominated
feeding schemes in the area. industry. Like the one day when they ordered fertile eggs from one farmer who refused to help
So far, she employs 10 people on a temporary basis and one them simply because they were black. The farmer wouldn’t agree to meet us for negotiations.
person full time. Two years ago, Mamangwa was one of the Then we involved our white friend, who sent an email pretending to be our boss and we then
winners of the Limpopo department of agriculture and rural managed to order the eggs under his name.”
development’s Young Aspirant Farmer award. Sipengane’s parents – both former teachers – have been farming since 2004, but without much
Although farming is still a male-dominated field, Mamangwa farming knowledge or experience. Her mother Busiswa Maya (53) said that even though they had
does not see this as a hindrance, but instead as an bought the farm in Meyerton, they weren’t allowed to start the agricultural business until the
opportunity for women farmers to thrive. local municipality gave the go-ahead.
She has also taken it upon herself to make farming “We went from pillar to post with the municipality trying to get permission to run a poultry
fashionable and appealing to her peers. farm, with no success. Our mostly white neighbours prevented us from starting the business. We
Her biggest challenge, she says, has been convincing young believe it was mainly because we are black farmers.”
women in the area to take farming seriously. Eventually, they gave up, sold the Meyerton farm and moved to Vanderbijlpark, where they
“Farming is a science and yet most of them think it is for now farm. Sipengane said it was shortly after they arrived in Vanderbijlpark in 2004 that they
uneducated people. They still believe that a good job entails got the authority to start their poultry business.
working in the office, dressing smartly and driving big cars.” Although she’s quickly proven that she has a flair for farming, Sipengane said farming was far
Although mindful of the challenges, Mamangwa has big from her first love.
plans for the future, which include expanding her farming “All I wanted was to become a fashion designer, but this dream was changed by my father
business and acquiring more land, which will allow her to Neto Maya [57], who accompanied me in 2013 to register at the North-West University. When we
plant on a larger scale so she can employ many more people. got there, there was no space available in the fashion design courses. The only available space at
“We don’t have water in the area. We rely on rain and water the time was for engineering courses. So, on our way back home, my father persuaded me to opt
from the canal. This makes it difficult to work in the winter for agriculture. He suggested we pass by the Potchefstroom Agricultural College to see what
season. I don’t have money for a borehole. and I also need courses were offered there. But when we got there, he insisted I register for agriculture, saying
transport to take my vegetables to the bigger markets so that my year would be wasted if I did not study. I agreed because I also did not want to stay at home
I can make a profit to improve our community.” for the whole year.”
She said her first day at the college was awful because many of the students came from