Matika Khathutshelo took over his dad’s farm, and what happened next is incredible. In this episode of the Farmer Mentor series, he shares his story of the shift when he started treating farming like a business.
Long before avocado farmer Matika Khathutshelo stepped in to lead their family farm in 2015, his father worked the land with heart, but the harvests were small. In those days, sometimes, a single bakkie was enough to carry the season’s hopes.
Macadamias yielded no more than five to ten crates, while avocados brought in a modest two to five tons each year.
Today, the same land tells a different story. “I’ve expanded our harvest to between three and five tons. That’s 150 to 500 crates of macadamias,” Khathutshelo shares with pride. As for avocados, they now bring in between 10 and 25 tons each season.
The farm in Vondo village in Limpopo’s Vhembe district is 10 hectares in size and managed under the name Matika Subcrop Farming.
Khathutshelo explains that avocados are their biggest income earner.
“I’ve studied this crop day and night. Other people said avocado is difficult, but on my side, I don’t take avocado as a difficult crop.”
While today’s thriving yields tell a story of growth and determination, the farm’s early days were rooted in necessity rather than profit.
“When I entered the industry, I made a decision to run the farm as a business. That meant changing a lot of things. While some of the original trees are still here, about 90% of the farm has been transformed,” says Khathutshelo.
In the past, they planted fewer than 100 trees per hectare. Today, they plant 312 trees per hectare. However, before making any decisions, Khathutshelo conducts market research and carefully analyses climate and rainfall patterns.
“We gather all that information before making decisions. That’s how we now run this farm as a serious business,” he shares.
Not quite commercial, yet
It may seem surprising that, even with the productivity and scale at which Khathutshelo operates, he still considers himself a small-scale farmer.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to mentor fellow farmers who have seen my work and decided to learn from my experience.”
They often call him a commercial farmer, but he does not embrace that label. At least, not yet, anyway.
“I still believe I have a lot to learn about farming. There’s a tendency to rush in this industry, but if you go too fast, you risk making mistakes that could cost you,” Khathutshelo explains.
Early on, he made many mistakes. Not because he was unprepared, but because he didn’t have all the information he needed.
“When I first planted in 2015, 2016, and 2017, I wasn’t focused on market research. I planted whatever I had access to, with little consideration for long-term planning,” he admits.
Today, however, everything he plants is deliberate. Khathutshelo believes that new-era farmers are fortunate to have people who have already paved the way.
“We don’t need to make the same mistakes others have made. When you have mentors and peers who share their knowledge, you can avoid the pitfalls they encountered.”
Related stories
- Fruit farmer times her 124-hectare orchard to perfection
- Patience pays off for Limpopo pecan nut farmer
Post-harvest hustle without a packhouse
Storage remains a major challenge for small-scale avocado producers like Khathutshelo, especially in rural areas where infrastructure is limited. Despite his impressive production growth, he explains that he doesn’t yet have the facilities to fully handle post-harvest processes on his farm.
“Storage is the biggest challenge in our area. We’re supposed to harvest avocados from the trees and then dip them in a chemical to stop them from rotting. But all of that we have to do under the trees because we don’t have a proper shed to work in.”
Without a designated packhouse on the farm, he’s opted to partner with an established facility – Amondel Parkers. “I send my product, then they package it, then they market it.”
Khathutshelo does not see the need to have a packhouse, but rather room for improvement in how fruit is handled before it leaves his farm. “What I need is just a shed – a place where we can dip the avocados properly,” he says.
“Then the transport can collect the fruit from that preparation point and take it to the packhouse. We are handling our fruits in a good way, but with better facilities, we can do even more.”
Trading farming tips, learning from giants
Despite running a small-scale operation, he has built strong relationships with commercial farmers and industry stakeholders to bridge the knowledge gap.
“I get information from people like Zander Ernst from Allesbeste Boerdery, Amondel Parkers, and Amana Breadery. These are commercial farmers,” he explains.
Khathutshelo also credits the Subtropical Growers’ Association (Subtrop) for playing a pivotal role in his learning.
When it comes to his markets, Khathutshelo sells his avocados to Amondel Parkers. “We start picking our fruits when the packhouse is still empty. And when the packhouse is empty, it gives us a good price. That is why we do well on avocado.”
Macadamias, on the other hand, follow a different route. “We package and send them to Green Farms. They are accredited with Samac, and they handle everything from processing, packaging, and selling the nuts.”
In addition to avocados and macadamia nuts, Khathutshelo also farms lychees, which he sells to the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market. He also sells some of it to hawkers in his area.
Looking ahead, Khathutshelo is determined to grow, not just in production, but in land and long-term impact.
“For now, I focus on expanding production. This farm we are farming is small. We need to go out and buy another farm or lease another one. We need to lease or buy farms in places where subtropical fruits can do well,” Khathutshelo explains.
His sights are currently set on scaling up avocado production in particular, though macadamias remain part of the plan.
READ NEXT: Data-driven citrus farming keeps SA ahead of the curve
Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain
