In Klerksdorp, North West, Rethabile Ngwenya tends to her one-hectare communal plot with dedication and care. Not even rain can dampen her spirit and stop her from tending to her livestock and produce.
There, she manages 15 Boschveld chickens and five Boer goats. In neat rows, she also produces chillies, spinach, tomatoes, onions, herbs, and pumpkins.
Ngwenya’s farming journey began in 2021 with a small amount of savings from her NSFAS funds. She started by creating a vegetable garden in Jouberton and set up a small stall to sell fruit and vegetables to her community. Slowly but surely her savings grew, allowing her to expand her farming efforts.
By 2022, her hard work had paid off, and Reaoboka Agribusiness and Projects was officially established. “What motivated me to get into farming is my belief in practical work and my love for seeing progress from my efforts,” Ngwenya shares.
“Farming has provided me with that. I’ve seen my growth, learned from my mistakes, and kept moving forward.”
From loss to growth
At the age of eleven, Ngwenya lost her mother, Mpho Ngwenya. After her mother’s death, her grandmother, Dithole Segatle, who was a teacher, raised her and taught her the importance of independence.
“Grandma made sure to teach me the importance of independence, and the independence I have now is hard-earned, even on rainy days,” Ngwenya says.
“Farming is similar in that it doesn’t always produce results or provide consistent cash flow. Some days are good, and some are worse.”
Her agribusiness has faced its share of challenges, including losing some of her chickens. “Some of my chickens died, and to address this, I had to research the breed more thoroughly and figure out what went wrong,” she explains.
Ngwenya chose Boer goats because she believes they are well-suited to various climates and management systems, making them ideal for small-scale farming.
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Empowering the next generation
She attributes much of her farming knowledge to the workshops and seminars she has attended since she started. She graduated last year from Vuselela TVET College in Klerksdorp with a qualification in public management.
Over the years, she also completed a level 4 course in animal production and undertook several short courses, including in assessing and corporate governance. “I have attended SABS training to gain more knowledge and continue growing,” she says.
If that is not enough, she also ventured into agro-processing, turning her chillies into chilli sauce. “I realised that while I’ve been growing chillies, not everyone enjoys them raw, which led to the creation of Serrano chilli sauce.”
Her customers mainly come from her local community and surrounding areas, including Kanana, Khuma, Orkney, and Klerksdorp.
Ngwenya has a passion for sharing her farming knowledge with the next generation. That is why she started a campaign, “Raising a girl and boy child in farming”, which teaches children as young as three years old about farming and the health benefits of understanding where their food comes from.
“I believe it’s important for them to learn about farming and the nutritional value of the food they consume.”
She faces daily challenges, such as the need for irrigation and animal feed, but she says she has much to be thankful for. In 2023, the department of agriculture in North West assisted her with 20 chickens, although she has not yet started selling them.
“I want to learn more about this breed before I begin selling. It’s always important to understand what you’re farming with to avoid losses.”
She also highlights the support she has received from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) and the department through training. She is working on registering her campaign to officially facilitate training sessions on a bigger scale and is working on securing land.
This go-getter believes that if she can overcome this hurdle, she will be able to diversify her farming operations with a range of different commodities.
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