Growing up in the rural village of KwesakaMthethwa in Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal, Sphamandla Fakude understood that farming was a family enterprise. In 2014, when his father, Anthony, retired, Fakude took up farming as a hobby. It soon became his way of life.
The Fakude family had been living in Esikhawini for years, but when bab’uFakude retired, they decided to move back to KwesakaMthethwa, where they began farming a variety of products such as maize, red kidney beans, spinach, cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, butternut, pele-pele, beetroot, carrots, onions, tomatoes and green peppers, on their three-hectare land.
In 2015 Fakude officially joined his father in the agricultural business.
When asked about how it all began in 2014, Fakude said that the land was practically a bush filled with trees and grass.
After a long year of fixing the land and creating boreholes and tunnels for fencing purposes, he officially started farming in 2015, all at a time when KZN was facing great drought and many livestock farmers were even selling off their animals or relocating entirely.
“Throughout the entire year, bab’uFakude was carefully collaborating with our mom, Lindiwe Fakude; I’d join in whenever I got the opportunity.”
Greenhouses are their saving grace
The Fakude family realised that the greenhouses technique would be the best way for them to continue farming during the drought of 2014-2015 in KZN.
He tells Food For Mzansi that the main benefit of using greenhouses is being able to grow crops throughout different seasons and in-demand regions.
“Our goal was to cultivate food that could be grown in any season, so greenhouses were our saving grace.”
In addition, they are now preparing to grow onions on the ground utilising greenhouses.
A well-balanced family
Fakude says that family comes first, especially when the going gets tough.
“Our family is like any other, with its problems. But we were raised to love and support one another and speak up when something is wrong. That’s how we were able to build Mtolo Farming together,” says Fakude.
“Without our faith in God, we wouldn’t be here. We’re not better than anyone else; we just worked hard to reach the same goal.”
Fakude adds that when Mtolo started, his siblings Zanele and Ayanda were busy – Ayanda at university and Zanele working. But things have improved, and they’ve now joined the business too. The goal is to keep it going for future generations.
“We make sure to get everyone together during school holidays so our kids can get to know each other as cousins and keep Mtolo Farming strong even when we are gone.”
Building the family legacy
Mtolo Farming is a family business that has big aspirations to be the best in all of KZN and even the whole country. Fakude states that their crops are in high demand, so much so that sometimes they struggle to satisfy the needs of the Empangeni community. Therefore, they still have three hectares of land which needs to be improved in order to keep up their farming activities.
“If we had more land, it would really make a difference for us. Being limited to a smaller scale prevents us from doing things like employing people; it’s really limiting.”
Fakude believes that farming should not just be a matter of choice; he feels that one day South Africa will experience limited imports and exports of food goods, and people will regret not having started growing their own food earlier.
“My worry is what would happen if only certain classes of people could afford food from the store? Growing your own food would be a great way to solve this problem.”
Spreading their roots
They supply Food Lover’s Market, Boxer and Spar in Empangeni. Fakude notes that their primary supporters are street vendors – they buy products in bulk, and sometimes it can be hard for them to supply enough for larger markets.
He acknowledges all their supporters who have contributed towards making Mtolo Farming what it is today.
Constructing a family dynasty is an admirable goal. But can be made possible by setting realistic objectives and putting in hard work, dedication, and determination. Working together with loved ones to achieve this goal can create lasting bonds and create a meaningful legacy for generations to come.
And that is exactly what Mtolo Farming is doing.
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