• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
Siphesihle Kwetana co-owner of Siphe Development and Capacitation Agency runs two farms and she's feeling the impact that covid-19 and the 21-day lockdown on her farmworkers and businesses.

#AloneTogether: Rural farmer ‘will not risk workers’ safety for money’

23rd April 2020
Andile Matukane, founder of Farmers Choice and Devroll Legodi, founder of Devroll Herbs, joined a recent session of Food For Mzansi’s Gather To Grow on twitter o discuss the cultivation of spring onions in Mzansi. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Farmer 101: Top tips to grow spring onions

14th August 2022
This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

13th August 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

12th August 2022
Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

12th August 2022
Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

12th August 2022
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022
Thanks to Netafim’s innovative solutions, drip irrigation is within reach of small-scale farmers. Photo: Supplied

Yes, precision irrigation is possible on a budget

11th August 2022
There's been a major breakthrough with South African citrus containers that have been contained at European ports. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Relief! Govt convinces EU to save SA citrus

11th August 2022
Willem Booise (left) is a trustee and has won the industry’s Specialist Agricultural Worker of the Year award in 2018. Photo: Supplied/Hortgro

Fruit farm shows there’s power in transformation

11th August 2022
Many people love avocados, but did you know that the introduction of just one of these fruits per day can improve the overall quality of your diet? Photo: Pixabay

An avocado a day can keep the doctor away

10th August 2022
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
11 GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Food For Mzansi
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
    • All
    • AgriCareers
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Groundbreakers
    • Innovators
    • Inspiration
    • It Takes a Village
    • Mentors
    • Movers and Shakers
    • Partnerships
    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

    His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

    Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Claire and Martin Joubert have sacrificed and struggled to become top breeders of Ankole cattle in South Africa. But giving up was never an option, because they wanted to offer only the very best Ankole genetics in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

    Tackling climate change, one tree at a time

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Once struggling farm now a family heirloom

    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    Optimal yields now at farmers’ finger tips

  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
No Result
View All Result
Food For Mzansi

#AloneTogether: Rural farmer ‘will not risk workers’ safety for money’

by Duncan Masiwa
23rd April 2020
in COVID-19, News
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Siphesihle Kwetana co-owner of Siphe Development and Capacitation Agency runs two farms and she's feeling the impact that covid-19 and the 21-day lockdown on her farmworkers and businesses.

Eastern Cape farmer Siphesihle Kwetana. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

When word got out that farmers and their workers were exempted from the 21-day coronavirus lockdown, Mzansi’s agriculturists started fearing for their lives. On the one hand, they are committed to still feeding the nation, but they are also worried that they might be infected.

Since the announcement of the national lockdown, 25-year-old Siphesihle Kwetana, a farmer from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, has not stopped thinking about ways to protect and ensure the safety of the workers employed on her farm. While many other farming enterprises are equipped with hand sanitisers, face masks and gloves to help protect themselves from covid-19, Kwetana and her team remained exposed.

Mthatha might be the main town in the King Sabata Dalindyebo Municipality and even boasts with its own airport, but there is critical shortage of personal protective equipment due to the pandemic. And in the rural village where Kwetana farms with, amongst others, spinach, cabbage and carrots, alcohol-based hand sanitiser is a luxury product, anyway.

ADVERTISEMENT

Kwetana tells Food For Mzansi she fears that her workers might soon be exposed to the coronavirus. She says, “Since the start of lockdown, it has not been easy to supply to our markets. We don’t have access to protective gear, and I don’t want to expose my workers to the virus. They’re also the ones who are doing the deliveries, so they are really at risk. I’m considering stopping my operations for now.”

“Yes, I’ll lose out on sales and revenue, but I’m not willing to risk the safety of my farmworkers for money.”

Before the virus outbreak, Kwetana employed a total of 22 agricultural workers. In the first five days since the lockdown she was forced to reduce this to just 10 workers who are staying on a property that she rents for them.

She adds that her other agribusiness, Siphe Development and Capacitation Agency, which she co-owns with her husband, Hillary, has had to shut down completely. The agency offered training, support, infrastructure development and agricultural supplies for undeveloped areas in the Eastern Cape.

Kwetana explains that it wasn’t an easy decision to make. She says, “We still have irrigation jobs to do for farmers, but now we can’t anymore because of the lockdown. Every day the number of infected people are increasing, and people are starting to die of the virus as well. I’m worried that the lockdown period might be extended and this will delay our operations even further. I’m a small-scale farmer and entrepreneur – how am I supposed to survive this?”

Government has now intensified covid-19 testing and tracing efforts with at least 10 000 field workers deployed to communities across Mzansi. It is not clear whether they will also reach Mthatha, but Kwetana says that misinformation has seemingly been spreading faster than the pandemic.

“People are listening to what the president has said, but fake news continues to spread. We live in rural area and some people don’t even have TVs. They rely on their phone and social media platforms to receive news and updates about the virus, but that’s where fake news is being spread mostly,” Kwetana explains.

Siphesihle Kwetana (25) on her 85 hectare farm in Qumbu Eastern Cape.
Siphesihle Kwetana (25) on her 85 hectare farm in Qumbu Eastern Cape.

The young farmer says that initially, people in her community didn’t take the news of the coronavirus seriously and adds, “People were saying it’s a sickness for white and rich people. Only after they announced the first death in South Africa, then some started taking this thing more seriously. But you still find WhatsApp messages being shared saying that the virus only attacks white people.”

Kwetana is just one of at least four million small-scale farmers in South Africa who play a critical role in food security. Her fear that her staff might be infected follows the call by Agbiz CEO John Purchase to the agricultural and agribusiness sectors to hold each other accountable during the unprecedented lockdown. He also urged the farming sector to heed the critical restrictions related to hygiene, sanitation and loading capacity.

“Farmworkers are the bedrock of the agricultural sector and these men and women are currently risking their safety and health to ensure the nation stays food secure during these trying times. Their safety cannot be compromised as there would be no food security without them,” says Purchase. “By not complying, the sector runs the risk of more stringent and onerous measures being introduced.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Should you wear a face mask?

Meanwhile in other parts of the Mzansi, colourful face masks were being made for vineyard workers on the AA Badenhorst Family Wines farm. With face masks flying off shelves due to covid-19 panic buying, Hanneke Kruger, the assistant winemaker, and Christine Bester, the “chief executive of chaos”, decided to take matters into their own hands on this Western Cape farm.

The colour face masks made on the farm of AA Badenhorst Family Wines.
The colourful face masks made on the farm of AA Badenhorst Family Wines.

Kruger is not only a talented winemaker, but also a budding seamstress. Kruger and colleague Giveness Murambi brought their sowing machines to the farm to make face masks for all staff. Cornelia Coetzee tells Food For Mzansi everyone collected some fabric scraps, and soon there were enough colourful face masks to protect workers picking grapes.

Dr Zweli Mkhize, the minister of health, has since tweeted that there is no question about the importance of face masks to help curb the virus spread. He says, “Masks can assist in containing the spread of the virus, especially for those who are coughing, sneezing or are infected.”

However, around the globe there is uncertainty about whether fabric face masks can actually make a difference. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says they stand by their recommendation to not wear masks if you are not sick or not caring for someone who is sick. According to the WHO disposable face masks can only be used once, and people are encouraged to use masks wisely because of the worldwide shortage.

“There is no specific evidence to suggest that the wearing of masks by the mass population has any potential benefit. In fact, there’s some evidence to suggest the opposite in the misuse of wearing a mask properly or fitting it properly,” says Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies programme.

Tags: 21-day coronavirus lockdownAA Badenhorst Family WinesAgbizagriculturistsDr Zweli MkhizeEastern CapeJohn PurchaseKing Sabata Dalindyebo MunicipalityMthathaSiphesihle Kwetana
Previous Post

Agri Careers: Meet an agricultural talent manager

Next Post

Covid-19: We ain’t seen nothing yet, warns Agbiz CEO

Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

Related Posts

Nonhlanhla Joye had to watch her investment of hundreds of thousands of rand, and a potential income into the millions, get drenched in water. Photos: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

R3m. potato harvest gone! Joye fights to get back up

by Duncan Masiwa
13th July 2022
0

"The floods really took a chunk of my life. Faith is what I need to go on for yet another...

For the past two years South Africa's agricultural sector experienced strong growth, with expansion in all sub-sectors. However, this year will be a bit different. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Livestock: Urgent industry solutions needed or else…

by Wandile Sihlobo
11th July 2022
0

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: South Africa's livestock industry is feeling a major pinch as feed prices continue to soar and outbreaks...

In South Africa, going forward, cutting edge software will be used to track locusts in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Technology the answer to curb Mzansi’s locust swarms

by Anna Majavu
5th July 2022
0

A few months ago farmers in the Eastern Cape were devastated by huge swarms of locusts that destroyed everything in...

Leave your comfort zone and make money, says foodie

Leave your comfort zone and start hustling, says foodie

by Vateka Halile
1st July 2022
0

MZANSI FLAVOUR: With a hustle and a bustle, Eastern Cape foodie Vuyelwa Makile found ways to alleviate her financial stress....

Next Post
‘If we could overcome Zuma, we can overcome anything,’ says agri leader

Covid-19: We ain't seen nothing yet, warns Agbiz CEO

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken
Recipes

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

by Noluthando Ngcakani
12th August 2022
0

MZANSI FLAVOUR: Calvin Venter might be young, but he has been working as a chef since the tender age of...

Read more
Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

12th August 2022
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022

This week’s agriculture events: 08 to 12 August 2022

She bosses: ‘We see farming changing for good’

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

60m. mouths to feed: ‘We’ve got you, Mzansi’

Control and prevent downy mildew on crops

THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 12 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

Farmer 101: Top tips to grow spring onions

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

  • Our Story
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824
News: info@foodformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought

Copyright © 2021 Food for Mzansi

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.