“Halala halala!” was the order of the day when livestock farmer Qhamani Mzobotshe had his very first harvest day on a 750-hectare farm he shares with 200 other farmers on Wednesday, 5 July 2023.
Mzobotshe is a young farmer from Lufafa Village in Ntabankulu and has always dreamed of working in the geographic field, so he pursued Geography and Zoology Studies at university.
Little did he know that soon after graduating the family farming business would draw him nearer and far away from his dreams of working in foreign lands.
Unwavering support
Mzobotshe runs an agricultural enterprise with his father and receives support from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform to assist him and 200 households plant grain on 750 hectares of land.
The department gave him inputs in the form of seeds, fertiliser, and herbicides for 220 hectares of land.
Thanks to that assistance, Mzobotshe and the company are set to yield 4500 tonnes of grain which will be sold to TWK, PSP, and EG Feeds.
On Tuesday, MEC Nonkqubela Pieters together with Eastern Cape Premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane, led the first harvest at Mzobotshe’s fields.
Future plans
Addressing farmers and the community, Mabuyane said Mzobotshe and other farmers had set a good example. He said the government should look into having a mechanisation centre in the Alfred Nzo District.
The Alfred Nzo District is one of the biggest producers of grain in the province with many of its farmers exporting yellow maize.
Through its inclusive cropping strategy, the department supported farmers to plant 28 529 ha with an investment of R142,8 million.
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