Anyone who wants to go into agriculture, especially young people, should learn as many farming skills as they can, believes Athizintle Nkaqa, the founder and owner of Flying Eagle Mixed Farming from Flagstaff’s Mketengeni location in the Eastern Cape. This will help them to ensure food security and fight poverty.
As exciting as farming may seem, you need to know how to do certain things. Nkaqa explains that some people who work in farming are successful at producing but still have to learn to manage money, pests, and diseases.
Agri has a special place in her heart
Nkaqa attended a school with an experiential learning programme and began studying agriculture in grade seven. She found it fascinating to understand where the food we eat on a daily basis comes from.
“From a young age, farming was a part of life; nonetheless, it was necessary only on vast fields for survival.”
A woman named Noyolo Sisanda Tshazi, who is now her mentor, visited her school for an agricultural practical day in Mketengeni JSS in 2009. Nkaqa was inspired when she explained what agriculture is – from the fields to production and markets – and how one may earn a living through it.
“I resolved then and there to make my mark in agriculture as a strong, independent woman.”
She decided immediately after high school that she wanted to pursue agricultural studies. Her initial ambition was to become a veterinary doctor, but her passing grades blocked her from pursuing the course.
Nkaqa then enrolled in animal production at Fort Cox Agriculture and Forestry Training Institute and, upon completion of her certificate, she pursued an advanced diploma in agricultural extension at the Central University of Technology (CUT).
Learning the trade
An internship with the department of rural development and agrarian reform in 2019 followed, where she worked in a nursery to grow crops. She says she learned that there are cash crops that can make you money quickly without costing a lot of money.
“I was inspired to establish an agricultural enterprise. I used my stipend to construct a piggery, purchase pigs, water pumps, an engine, and piping.”
She began with six pigs – five sows and one boar – and now has thirty-two piglets. After acquiring a market and seeing that it was profitable for the Boxer store and locals, she sought her father for permission to utilise the family land to begin crop production.
“Although my father let me use the family land, I felt the desire for something larger. I went to the chief to expand my field, and I ended up with 12 hectares, despite the fact that I can afford to cultivate crops on just five hectares for the time being.”
Facing difficulties as they arise
Following her desire for growing food, Nkaqa says the challenges became overwhelming, such as a lack of water and raising her pigs.
“Given the cost of feed, raising pigs is a costly process. Instead of planting additional veggies, I increased the amount of feed maize and sunflower for my pigs.”
Nkaqa had initially planned to sell piglets, but most of her buyers wanted gilt and boar instead. She explains that for her farm to succeed, she has prioritised client satisfaction.
Poverty in South Africa
In the next five years, due to climate change and food inflation in Mzansi, Nkaqa believes that we may face poverty. Therefore, while there is still time, anybody with a space, no matter how big or small, should begin producing food immediately so that they will be on the safer side when disaster strikes.
“The cost of living is really high. It is unfortunate that eating is a need from which there is no escape.”
She adds that there is no such thing as worthless information when it comes to learning, and she hopes that her peers and future generations would take agriculture seriously, as it will always be in demand.
Her greatest aspirations include owning a pork butchery and a field of mixed crops. She says that there is plenty of land in rural regions, but water is scarce and theft is rife.
“If the department of agriculture nationally would provide for the needs of aspiring farmers, the majority of people in rural areas would not go to bed hungry,” Nkaqa says.
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