In the picturesque ‘fairyland’ of Sompondo Village in the Eastern Cape, nestled near Hogsback in the Amathole Mountains, farmer Mhlobo Mbane is cultivating more than just crops and livestock, he’s also sowing seeds of empowerment and change.
“I got into farming because I wanted to employ myself and other people around me,” he shares.
Mhlobo’s journey, spanning two decades, is a testament to resilience and passion. From a freelance rural development facilitator to a recognised agriculturist, he has faced challenges head-on, battling diseases and navigating market intricacies.
The positives far outweigh the negatives
Yet, Mbane’s true reward lies in mentoring aspiring farmers, shaping futures, and contributing to the nation’s growth.
He says he loves farming because it allows him to contribute to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and make a positive impact through job creation.
“I also really enjoy finding myself in a position of providing advice and knowledge to younger farmers and other start-up farmers. This is very pleasurable to me. It keeps me motivated and encouraged because I feel I am making a difference in other people’s lives.”
How it all began
In 2002, Mhlobo started working with farms in different areas like the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Gauteng as a freelance rural development facilitator and consultant for different organisations.
A few years later in 2006, he got a job with the National Emergent Red Meat Producers Organisation (Nerpo), where he helped manage projects for small farmers in the Eastern Cape. These projects aimed to help small farmers by giving them hands-on experience and teaching them farming skills.
The Eastern Cape department of rural development and agrarian reform, along with AgriSETA, funded these projects. With Nerpo’s support in 2008, Mhlobo was able to buy 72 Boer goats, and that’s when he officially began his farming journey.
“I have been in the sector for a very long time so that I could create employment for myself. Back then, and even now, there’s been a high rate of unemployment, but it was not only unemployment that led me to start my business. I had the passion to be an entrepreneur and start my farming enterprise,” he says.
Mbane’s company Vegado produces six-week-old live broiler chickens, day-old chicks (the coloured broilers and indigenous chicks), and free-range eggs.
Vegado
Vegado is also accredited with the AgriSETA offering various farmers skills training and development. They offer accredited and non-accredited short skills training and leadership programmes in basic poultry production courses (5 days), basic hatchery courses (5 days), and basic egg production (5 days).
There is also a basic financial management course (5 days), business marketing (3 days), basic business management (5 days),
“We provide qualified and experienced facilitators for various agricultural training programmes on plant and animal production and mixed farming systems.”
The company has been offering assessment and moderation services to various AgriSETA-accredited companies for the past six years. They offer these services on animal and plant production, mixed farming systems NQF Level 1-4.
“We have a pool of qualified and experienced assessors and moderators that are accredited with AgriSETA,” he shares.
‘Challenging, but worth it’
Being a poultry farmer has its challenges. Mhlobo has faced diseases like bird flu (avian influenza), a lack of fertilised eggs for incubators, and shortages of young chicks with poor quality.
The costs of things like feed and diesel keep going up, making it tough. Plus, accessing the informal market is a struggle for him.
“We as poultry farmers also don’t have off-take agreements because of the numbers to sustain and be in a position to sign off-take agreements with stores. But at the moment I supply local schools and individual customers, but I hope things improve.
“Also, funding is always a challenge we farmers have and I believe it should not be a once-off thing. We also have commercial farmers that have grants and production loans that they have every year so it is difficult for us as black farmers to have access to those loans,” Mhlobo explains.
Making a difference
He tells Food For Mzansi that his mentorship work has allowed him to steer new farmers in the correct direction and he’s been able to provide advice on successful entrepreneurship in agriculture.
“I like doing this because it makes me hopeful that the farmers I mentor will be creating jobs for other young people,” he says.
“Farming has been very positive because we will always need food since the population is growing. People need farmers.”
The only thing he wishes for is assistance with the high input costs he and other small-scale farmers experience. He adds that small-scale farmers could farm with ease if the sector could unite and assist farmers with adopting technology. This would help farmers to make a difference.
“My advice is that farming needs perseverance and that you stick to your vision. People who want to be successful should have a viable business plan in place as well as good mentors and advisors. They must know that they’ll be making calculated risks because farming is a risk, so you need to find something that will generate income.”
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