“The world is still getting used to black women taking up space in various sectors, especially in agriculture during the global pandemic,” says Gugulethu Mahlangu (27). She is a spinach farmer and founder of House Harvest in Boksburg, Johannesburg.
This week, on episode 47 of Farmer’s Inside Track agriculture podcast, Mahlangu tells us one of the biggest challenges she faced since starting her agribusiness is “prejudice of a young female entering a male-dominated space”.
“These challenges are unfortunate, but there is a silver lining”, says Gugulethu. “Such incidents have given me no choice but to become stronger, to take education even more seriously. To learn how to be better, how to be a better farmer, how to be a better business woman.”
In our agripreneurship slot Nico Groenewald, head of agribusiness at Standard Bank, talks about business succession. If you’ve never really given this much thought then listen up! According to Groenewald, it should be an integral part of your business strategy.
“The most important thing with business succession is that it is not something that you can do in isolation. You need to involve the people around you,” says Groenewald.
South Africa’s Greatest Entrepreneurs by Moky Makura is on top of our reading list this week. Makura is a Nigerian born South African actress and presenter. The book comprises a series of fascinating profiles on 22 of the most successful and dynamic business visionaries who have built empires in South Africa. It’s a must read!
In our Mzansi Flavour segment Chef Tefo Mokgoro shares his secret to a perfect home cooked South African meal. We also get great nutrition tips from nutritionist Andrea Du Plessis.
Minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Thoko Didiza joins this week’s podcast to detail the number of farms available and the steps farmers should follow to access the nearly 700 000 hectares of state land being made available for agricultural purposes.
And, of course, we have our weekly AMT Fresh Produce Outlook on the market with agricultural economist Dr Johnny van der Merwe. He highlights the latest price movements and expectations for the coming week.
Farmer’s Inside Track is proudly brought to you by Food For Mzansi. The show, ranking high-up on South Africa’s weekly podcast charts, is hosted by Dawn Noemdoe and Duncan Masiwa. It promises to bring you up to speed with the latest movements in the fascinating world of farming and agriculture.
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