Through trust, unity, and strategic agricultural choices, Portia Mdhlovu, the driving force behind Laughing Waterfall in Mpumalanga, has turned a communal property association venture into a thriving success story. She shares their success in this episode of our Farmer Mentor podcast on Farmer’s Inside Track.
Portia Mdhlovu, the general manager of Laughing Waterfall, has achieved what most communal property associations (CPAs) in South Africa only dream of.
Laughing Waterfall is a thriving commercial farming business established in 2018 by the Matsamo Communal Property Association in Mpumalanga. On over 800 hectares of land, they farm litchis on 84 hectares, bananas on 300, sugarcane on 386 and mangoes on 35 hectares.
The farm prides itself as one of the best performing CPA farms in the whole country. The company invests back into the land and develop a few hectares each and every year from the litchi proceeds.
The secret to their success?
“Working in unity and having one goal is what makes a business succeed,” says Mdhlovu. “Our CPA is working with good leadership and everyone is involved. They get the community involved in the farming. We’ve got competent people to run the business.”
Seizing export markets
Despite the challenges faced by most CPAs, Laughing Waterfall has thrived under Mdhlovu’s guidance, and she has the numbers to prove it.
Laughing Waterfall is Global Gap certified and exports its litchis to the EU and USA. They are also approved by the Perishable Product Export Control Board (PPECB) to store export produce at their cold-room facilities on their farm.
Their bananas are sold at the Johannesburg market, Tshwane market and the Springs market.
Mdhlovu’s strategic focus on litchis and bananas stems from their market potential and local demand.
“We still want to expand to other fruits but for now, litchis especially, we export and it has become the biggest financial contributor to the farm. And when it comes to bananas, it’s an easy fruit to have and it’s cheap, making it a staple in every household,” Mdhlovu explains.
Employment and community
Furthermore, the farm employs 172 permanent staff members and around 600 seasonal workers annually. Mdhlovu says her leadership philosophy revolves around trust and unity within the team.
“A key part of what leads to a CPA running a farming business successfully is trusting your team. You can’t do it alone. You need to trust them, and they need to trust you as well,” Mdhlovu emphasises.
Mdhlovu’s journey from a qualified agriculture professional to a leader in the farming community is because of her commitment to empowering black farmers.
“I wanted to be challenged. What we’re doing is something different from what I’ve been doing before.
“I wanted to make it work and show that we can become successful as black farmers, we can do farming on our own without having to involve other people,” Mdhlovu says.
In this podcast episode, she shares more about her journey in agriculture, farming challenges, how the community has benefitted from the success of the CPA, future plans and more.
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode of Farmer’s Inside Track.
Option 1: Click here to listen on Spotify (all mobile and other devices).
Option 2: Click here to listen on any Apple device.
Option 3: Click here to listen on Google Podcast.
READ NEXT: Farmer Mentor: Diversification drives Digashu’s path to success
Sign up for Farmer’s Inside Track: Join our exclusive platform for new entrants into farming and agri-business, with newsletters and podcasts.
