In a celebration of agricultural innovation and resilience, Food For Mzansi brings to the forefront the inspiring stories of five remarkable farmers who have not only embraced their agricultural roots but have also transformed their passion into thriving businesses.
These are among the first farmers interviewed by Food For Mzansi way back in 2018 when our publication just started. We caught up with them to hear where they are now and how far they have come in their agricultural pursuits.
Tawfeeq Brinkhuis
Tawfeeq Brinkhuis, raised on his family’s Schaapkraal farm in Philippi, inspired Food For Mzansi readers back in 2018 with his story of how he transitioned from childhood egg-collecting duties to managing Chamomile Farming, a profitable poultry business established in 2005 by his parents, Achmat and Wadea Brinkhuis.
At the age of 25, Brinkhuis was already managing the poultry division at Chamomile Farming.
His passion for animal production emerged in 2014 when he took charge of 11,600 chickens in an automated facility. Despite the challenges, meticulous record-keeping laid the foundation for his future endeavours.
His dream then was to expand his egg production considerably in the near future, as he believed that anything was possible with hard work and dedication.
Expansion satisfaction
“Since our last interview, we have expanded on our poultry production. We secured an Enterprises Development loan through Quantum and built a state-of-the-art fully environmentally controlled chicken layer house that houses 25,000 layers,” Brinkhuis shares.
They are currently expanding vegetable production, having installed four tunnels. The decision to opt for tunnel farming is driven by the aim to maximise output and address climate changes, requiring them to make more optimal use of the land at Chamomile.
Their current goals involve expanding both the egg-laying facilities and vegetable production to their maximum potential in the future.
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Mokgadi Mabela
In 2018, Mokgadi Mabela, a third-generation beekeeper from Lebowakgomo, Polokwane, was cultivating her passion for beekeeping into a thriving business called Native Nosi.
She told Food For Mzansi that the honeybees were gifted by her father. She then decided to transform her childhood exposure to beekeeping into a specialisation in organic honey production. Despite her father’s initial beekeeping hobby, Mabela formalised her honey-selling venture in 2015, registering Native Nosi to establish a distinct brand identity. The name “Native” underscored the indigenous nature of their South African honey, while “Nosi” celebrated the honeybee in Basotho tradition.
Back then Mabela strategically placed her beehives on farms in Limpopo, notably Tzaneen and Polokwane, relocating them based on seasonal crop availability. By 2018, she had expanded her business to an online platform, supplying honey nationwide.
Operating from her home, Mabela not only served individual customers but also collaborated with small shops and restaurants in and around Pretoria, bringing a young and vibrant essence to beekeeping and farming.
When speaking to Food For Mzansi at the time, Mabela looked forward to growing her business. She dreamt of having her own farm and centralising most of their operations. She wanted to employ more people and have a greater socio-economic impact. And this she did.
A company to be proud of
Today, Native Nosi is a company that produces and sells not only honey, but wax, and organic and indigenous by-products. Mabela used to under-price her honey to compete with commercial retailers. However, she realised that her target market values her product and will pay the price for a raw, pure product with sources they know and trust.
“With Covid-19, we were affected from all sides and the increase became unavoidable. All our input costs increased during the lockdown; packaging material, printing, salaries with less sales etc.
“Rural farmers augmenting our stock were affected by the same factors and increased their prices by almost 30%”
Native Nosi has also grown the bee business to about 820 beehives. She plans to grow this number to 5 000 beehives in the next three years.
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Tshilidzi Matshidzula
Tshilidzi Matshidzula, a farmer and former manager of Matshibele, a thriving dairy business based in Alexandria in the Eastern Cape, wowed Food For Mzansi with his dairy that farmed 521 cows, with about 50% of the herd consisting of Holsteins, 10% of Jerseys, and 40% of Jersey-Holstein crosses.
The cows were supported by 220ha of dryland kikuyu pastures and 60ha of annual ryegrass. The company also leased another 80ha for heifers and 10ha for hay production.
Matshidzula went in partnership with his friend, mentor, and commercial dairy farmer Walter Biggs who was particularly active in the management of Little Barnet. Then in 2010, Matshidzula took over the management of the farm. This gradual transfer of responsibility was at the heart of Matshidzula’s success over the past nine years.
“In the beginning, it was very difficult to be a part of a community dominated by white, commercial farmers. It took years to gain their trust, but I eventually got to a point where there was no longer any difference between us. I have learnt that people will value you based on the value that they can get out of you.”
Cream of the crop
Today, at the age of 31, Matshidzula stands as one of the country’s top dairy farmers, solidifying his place as a legendary figure in South Africa’s black farming community.
His journey to success involved years of diligent work, skilful negotiations, and a touch of serendipity, transforming a faltering land-reform project into a thriving, world-class dairy enterprise that now tends to a remarkable 1000 cows.
His collaboration with Biggs has since also seen Matshidzula expand his agricultural endeavours with a second operation in Stutterheim.
Breyton Milford
In 2018, Breyton Milford stole our hearts by being the youngest-ever senior manager at Agri-Expo and the youngest Chairman of the National Agricultural Youth Society of South Africa.
When Food For Mzansi interviewed him, Milford served as the operations manager at the Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society (trading as Agri-Expo).
He oversaw the marketing and communications department, collaborated with agricultural commodity organisations, managed rural agriculture shows in the Western Cape, coordinated with agriculture schools in the region, worked with breed societies in South Africa, and contributed to various agricultural events hosted by the society.
Flying the flag
He had travelled to more than 10 countries around the globe, representing his company on the global agricultural platform. These countries included New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, India, Zambia, Papua New Guinea, and more.
In 2016, he addressed the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Singapore on Youth Development and support for farmers. This conference was attended by Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal (Princess Anne), The Commonwealth Secretary General (Baroness Patricia Scotland of Astral), and various other prominent role-players throughout the world.
Earlier this year, Milford was appointed as the new general manager for Agri-Expo, ushering in “a new era” at the oldest agricultural society in South Africa.
Milford’s appointment followed the early retirement of Agri-Expo’s former chief executive, Johan Ehlers in 2022.
“I believe that this is a new era in Agri-Expo’s history. We will have to follow a ‘back to basics’ approach. To ensure sustainability, all new projects will have to pass a strong affordability and relevancy test while promoting agriculture. I look forward to refocusing and streamlining Agri-Expo,” he said.
Mahlatse Matlakana
Five years ago, Mahlatse Matlakana found herself in charge of her own, leased eight-hectare farm. She employed people from her community, supplied produce to major retailers and markets, and attracted the attention and support of major brands like Shoprite, Anglo American, and Basil Read. Her registered company, Wozilex, had secured a grant through the National Youth Development Agency, which greatly accelerated her progress.
Matlakana enjoyed that farming had given her the ability to give back to her community. Aside from the employment opportunities her work had provided, she proudly provided a free supply of vegetables to a local crèche every month.
Peppers were not the end of her farming ambitions, however. As per plan, she has expanded her operation to include potatoes and tomatoes. Soon, she also started exporting tomatoes to Mozambique. At some point, Wozilex provided over 10 vendors and wholesalers with over 300 units of produce monthly.
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Hardships unfold
However, in 2021, a devastating turn of events unfolded. The water supply on the land they were leasing began to dwindle, eventually reaching a point of complete depletion by 2022, leaving her crops without the vital nourishment they needed.
“We were leasing land and our water just started drying up. We were using borehole water and river water. We [began] drilling for more water, spending money but it didn’t work out.
“[As a result], we could no longer operate on that land. You can basically say that Wozilex is on pause. All our employees are unemployed,” explains Matlakana.
The impact on the farmer has been emotionally and mentally challenging. Matlakana, who was once a pillar of strength in her community, providing jobs, training, and mentorship to aspiring farmers, now finds herself in a vulnerable position.
“All of a sudden you can’t be the pillar of strength [to your community]. It’s really painful to see that when you thrive, everyone’s got your back, but when things start going wrong, everyone, disappears. The support [as well].”
Currently, she is actively seeking new land to lease. While there are a few options under consideration, Matlakana said she will first conduct water testing to ensure an adequate and reliable water supply before making any decisions and building back from the ground up.
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