When Covid 19 brought life to a standstill in 2020, brothers Phuti and Dumisani Maake found a way to stay productive at home. They turned an unused space in their yard into a small vegetable garden, growing spinach, tomatoes, peppers and potatoes.
The garden gave the brothers their first taste of farming as a business and later led them to poultry farming. Today, they are growing their poultry business, while Phuti balances farming with his university studies.
Growing up close to nature
Both brothers were born in Mankweng, Limpopo. Phuti later moved to Gauteng before returning home to Limpopo in 2016, while he was in grade 6.
Growing up in Mankweng exposed him to rural life, from growing fruit and vegetables and using medicinal plants to being around animals and seeing how the environment changes with the seasons.
This environment grew his love for nature and influenced his decision to study environmental sciences. He started his studies at the University of Limpopo in 2023 and is now in his final year.
When the quarantine ended, Dumisani returned to Johannesburg for his studies in food science, while Phuti stayed in Mankweng. That was when he started thinking about diversifying into poultry.
“My family approved the idea and helped cover the major startup expenses,” Phuti says.
The brothers started Maake Poultry in 2024, although their first step into farming was through crops. The vision grew from growing crops to tackling food insecurity, particularly among university students.
“As a student myself, I know what many of them go through, and farming felt like the best way to provide for them,” Phuti says.
Their main market is eggs, which they mainly sell on campus. They operate in their backyard and also rear broilers during the festive season, when demand for meat increases.
With support from their family, they spent about R40 000 to get the poultry operation off the ground, covering the construction of the poultry structure, equipment, and the purchase of their first 200 layer chicks.
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Farming around his studies
Phuti says the business has been steadily growing, with their next goal being to acquire at least 20 hectares of land to expand the operation. Despite the growth, however, they have not yet recovered the capital used to start the business.
“What I’ve noticed is that most startup poultry farmers hit their apex here because going up from here is very, very hard. It’s like everything is against your growth.”
The brothers chose layers after seeing the year-round demand for eggs, particularly among students. Broilers, he says, require more marketing and would need a processing chain if they were to produce and package chicken meat throughout the year.
“With layers, I can easily collect the eggs daily and deliver them while going to attend classes, as easy as that.”
Their delivery model also works around his university schedule. Phuti drives to campus for lectures and can deliver eggs to students afterwards without making an extra trip.
His environmental studies have also helped him understand the environmental side of farming, including manure and waste management. He says the knowledge will also help when they expand, as environmental assessments are required before building a large farm.
“When we build a big farm, it’s minus one problem when it comes to environmental compliance.”
The lessons behind the growth
Phuti says that while the business has grown, it has also come with several challenges, including getting access to scheduled vaccines for their layers. At one point, they had to travel around Polokwane looking for a 50ml vaccine, which was exhausting and costly.
Another challenge was mortality due to their lack of experience. They lost about 40% of a batch by the end of the cycle.
“Another problem is lack of mentorship led to many birds dying and this was affecting the number of eggs we could produce weekly.”
He adds that although Dumisani works in Johannesburg as a food scientist, he continues to support the business financially and helps out when he is home during the holidays.
Phuti notes that he loves farming because it gives him a sense of financial freedom and the possibility of becoming his own boss, without having to depend on a 9-to-5 job.
He explains that balancing his studies and the business is not easy.
“It’s challenging because I get to experience this backed up by academic stress too, and sometimes I feel like I’m alone.”
What he likes most about the business is being exposed to such pressure at a young age. He believes the experience will prepare him for life after university and help him become a better individual and a skilled CEO.
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