• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
Athenkosi Denga and Soyama Mtongana have been trading livestock since they were in their teens. Today, the duo is running the first black-owned auction service in the Eastern Cape. Photo: Supplied.

High school buddies are black-owned auction pioneers

29th September 2020
This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

13th August 2022
His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

12th August 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

12th August 2022
Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

12th August 2022
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022
Thanks to Netafim’s innovative solutions, drip irrigation is within reach of small-scale farmers. Photo: Supplied

Yes, precision irrigation is possible on a budget

11th August 2022
There's been a major breakthrough with South African citrus containers that have been contained at European ports. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Relief! Govt convinces EU to save SA citrus

11th August 2022
Willem Booise (left) is a trustee and has won the industry’s Specialist Agricultural Worker of the Year award in 2018. Photo: Supplied/Hortgro

Fruit farm shows there’s power in transformation

11th August 2022
Many people love avocados, but did you know that the introduction of just one of these fruits per day can improve the overall quality of your diet? Photo: Pixabay

An avocado a day can keep the doctor away

10th August 2022
Davidzo Chizhengeni, animal scientist, founder of KvD livestock, Ika Cronje, farmer and participant in the Corteva Women Agripreneur 2022 programme, Vuyokazi Makapela, a Director at Afrivet, and permaculture farmer, Stephanie Mullins. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

10th August 2022
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
11 GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Food For Mzansi
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
    • All
    • AgriCareers
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Groundbreakers
    • Innovators
    • Inspiration
    • It Takes a Village
    • Mentors
    • Movers and Shakers
    • Partnerships
    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

    His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

    Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Claire and Martin Joubert have sacrificed and struggled to become top breeders of Ankole cattle in South Africa. But giving up was never an option, because they wanted to offer only the very best Ankole genetics in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

    Tackling climate change, one tree at a time

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Once struggling farm now a family heirloom

    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    Optimal yields now at farmers’ finger tips

  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
No Result
View All Result
Food For Mzansi

High school buddies are black-owned auction pioneers

by Duncan Masiwa
29th September 2020
in Movers and Shakers
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Athenkosi Denga and Soyama Mtongana have been trading livestock since they were in their teens. Today, the duo is running the first black-owned auction service in the Eastern Cape. Photo: Supplied.

Athenkosi Denga and Soyama Mtongana have been trading livestock since they were in their teens. Today, the duo is running the first black-owned auction service in the Eastern Cape. Photo: Supplied

Livestock farmers Athenkosi Denga and Soyama Mtongana are used to having the ground shaken beneath their feet by herds of cattle. But what these two young farmers have not adapted to is themselves being called movers and shakers in the agricultural industry.

The two ventured into agriculture when they were both only 19 years old. Today
both are 27 and are known for running the first black-owned auction service
in the Eastern Cape alongside their livestock business, Lizwe Meat.

The pair became entrepreneurs with little experience but plenty of grit and
knowledge. During their grade 11 high school year they started trading livestock
which they had earned by toiling on their respective family farms.

ADVERTISEMENT

Denga recalls, “Both me and Soyama worked for our cattle. Like the rest of the
farm workers we would also work, but instead of receiving a monthly salary, we
were paid in cattle. One head of cattle each at the end of the year.

“Looking back on it now, we were actually being ripped off by our parents,” he
laughs.

Athenkosi Denga is the co-owner of Lizwe Meat, a livestock business he started with his childhood friend. Photo: Supplied.
Athenkosi Denga is the co-owner of Lizwe Meat, a livestock business he started with his childhood friend. Photo: Supplied

Their business, Lizwe Meat, debuted in 2011. After being formalised in 2015 it
today takes up about 600 hectares of rented farmland grazed by livestock in Peddie
in the Eastern Cape.

According to Mtongana both of them share a passion for farming and have over
time developed a strong relationship.

Their families have known each other for years and they became close friends.
Both their fathers and grandfathers were seasoned livestock farmers from the
former Transkei area.

“We started this partnership based on trust, shared farming values and knowing
what each of us are capable of. I could say our partnership was an effortless
union,” Mtongana declares.

Age and other agri challenges

While their journey into agriculture might have been a smooth entry, more recently
the farming duo faced a huge challenge. This was when, in 2019, their audacious
hearts and unrelenting spirits saw them launching the auction service.

The service is mainly focussed on new and smallholder farmers but includes
commercial farmers as well. The auctions held in the former Transkei give new
farmers access to the real market price and multiple buyers from different areas.
This eliminates the chance of being exploited by chancers.

But launching the new wing of Lizwe Meat was no easy feat and there were many
times when Denga and Mtongana had to work extra hard to keep things going.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Firstly,” Denga exclaims, “People looked at us and said, so you guys are this
young and you want to hold an auction? What do you know about auctions? Very few people believed that we could actually pull it off.”

Transportation was another challenge. Many of the new and smallholder farmers
did not have the financial means to transport their livestock to the auction events.
Some truckers charged exorbitant amounts per kilometre and it was just too
expensive for them.

“The smaller farmers would sell their cattle at the auctions, only for half of their
earnings to go to transport. We then decided to subsidise some of their transport
costs,” Denga says.

Some farmers also did not understand what an auction was and how it is done, so
the two farming entrepreneurs had to first educate them.

‘Very few people believed that we could actually pull it off.’

Recalling their first auction, Mtongana remembers the excessive nerves both of
them experienced days before the event.

“Oh, my word,” he yells. “The nerves were just too much – you don’t sleep, hey.

“The three days before the auction I couldn’t sleep because I didn’t know what was
going to happen. We just had to have faith in the work that was put in and hope for
the best.”

These challenges almost derailed their auction endeavour, but together
they pushed past the bad patches. They learnt a lot from the experience.
Denga’s advice to entrepreneurs and farmers is to, “make decisions with their
vision in mind and not only with the (immediate) problem in front of them. It
sounds simple, but it’s hard.”

The world’s next billionaires

Denga runs the administration side of the business and meets clients and buyers,
while also being responsible for the overall operations of their business. Mtongana, on the other hand, oversees all marketing-related initiatives and makes sure that all runs smoothly with their auction events.

Soyama Mtongana believes that agriculture is the breeding ground for the world's next billionaires. Photo: Supplied.
Soyama Mtongana believes that agriculture is the breeding ground for the world’s next billionaires. Photo: Supplied

Neither farmer has formal education in agriculture, but they are doing it and doing it very well. Denga holds a degree in administration and Mtongana in
marketing and accounting.

For Denga and Mtongana their mission in agriculture has over time become as clear as a crystal. They are set on challenging age-old farming perspectives.

“When a black person enters the sector there is no faith in that person. Anyone who follows behind us can see that it is possible, and they should not limit themselves,” Mtongana exclaims.

He adds, “youth in agriculture need to understand that agriculture is the breeding ground, not just for Africa, but for the world’s next billionaires. Food security is starting to be a worldwide problem, so the world needs them.

“Denga and I know what we want. We are not going around trying and buying anything or everything. We’re sticking to our plan which we believe will develop us in the near future.”

For now, the duo will continue to firmly grab and maximize every opportunity at their disposal and in line with their vision.

Five years from now, they say, they will be a household name in the beef farming
industry within the Eastern Cape province.

Tags: agricultureAthenkosi Dengablack-owned businesscommercial farmersLivestockLivestock auctionsnew farmerssmallholder farmersSoyama Mthongana
Previous Post

‘Dancing boertjie’ takes Mzansi by storm

Next Post

Three things happening in SA agriculture today, 29 September 2020

Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

Related Posts

This week’s agri events calendar features considerations for choosing your farm business structure, an Open Range Beefmaster production sell-off, and a strategic farming series webinar are also included. The Agrico virtual conference, followed by the annual Kragdag Expo top it off. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

This week’s agriculture events: 08 to 12 August 2022

by Vateka Halile
8th August 2022
0

This week’s agri events calendar features an Open Range Beefmaster production auction, the Agrico virtual conference, and the annual Kragdag...

On this week’s agri-calendar, you can look forward to a livestock auction, a plant pathology conference and another on animal health. There's also an information session on growing potatoes and an online event on regenerative agriculture. Photo: Supply/Food For Mzansi

This week’s agriculture events: 01 to 05 August 2022

by Vateka Halile
1st August 2022
0

On this week’s agriculture calendar, you can look forward to a livestock auction, a plant pathology conference and another on...

For the past two years South Africa's agricultural sector experienced strong growth, with expansion in all sub-sectors. However, this year will be a bit different. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Livestock: Urgent industry solutions needed or else…

by Wandile Sihlobo
11th July 2022
0

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: South Africa's livestock industry is feeling a major pinch as feed prices continue to soar and outbreaks...

In a bid to contain the further spread of foot-and-mouth disease in KwaZulu-Natal, three districts have been declared as disease management areas. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: FMD ‘far from under control’

by Staff Reporter
11th July 2022
0

In case you missed it: Industry players have warned that vigilance on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is now more critical than...

Next Post
Pictured from left are Nomalungelo Gina, deputy minister for trade, industry, and competition, Julian May, director of the NRF-DST Centre of Excellence in Food Security at the University of the Western Cape, and Andy du Plessis, CEO of FoodForward SA. Photo: Supplied.

Three things happening in SA agriculture today, 29 September 2020

Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi
News

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

by Duncan Masiwa
12th August 2022
0

There’s a whole list of basic food items that are set to become cheaper soon. But there are factors at...

Read more
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022
Thanks to Netafim’s innovative solutions, drip irrigation is within reach of small-scale farmers. Photo: Supplied

Yes, precision irrigation is possible on a budget

11th August 2022

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

She bosses: ‘We see farming changing for good’

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

Ecological farming the answer to food insecurity

Setting up a regenerative smallholding

Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 12 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

  • Our Story
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824
News: info@foodformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought

Copyright © 2021 Food for Mzansi

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.