When the Sernick Group first started its Emerging Farmers Programme in 2016 it was in the hope that it would aid and empower people like Palesa Moahloli to succeed and give hope to other emerging farmers.
Moahloli was recently announced as the Free State Female Entrepreneur of 2018 by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ 2018 Female Entrepreneur Awards competition.
Of her new title she says: “I am very humbled to be awarded this title, I hope it serves as a testament to my hard work and shows other emerging farmers that perseverance and continued hard work pays off. I hope to be a role model by encouraging others who are doubtful about farming and make a contribution to our economy.”
Moahloli joined the Sernick Emerging Farmers Programme in March 2018 through an invitation sent out by Sernick to all emerging farmers. In June she was selected to join the Tier 2 group and invited to complete the Level 4 National Qualification Framework in Animal Production. “The Sernick Emerging Farmers Programme has given me the platform to gain first-hand knowledge into the cattle industry and the opportunity to network with other emerging farmers,” she says.
Moahloli is enthusiastic about her own role as an emerging farmer in South Africa: “What I enjoy most about farming is knowing that I’m helping to feed my country by contributing to the beef and pork value chain as a role player in food security, poverty alleviation, job creation and economic growth in the sector.”
Palesa Moahloli is participating in the Sernick Group’s Emerging Farmers Programme along with 200 other emerging farmers this year. The programme is made possible through the joint efforts and assistance of the Sernick Group supported by the Jobs Fund at National Treasury, the Land Bank and other financial institutions. Through such projects the Sernick Group hopes to sustainably uplift communities and empower emerging farmers for a better and brighter South Africa.
For more stories about female farmers, click here.
