Even when the odds were against a young North West farmer, Khanyisile Plaatjie never opted to give up his dream. When obstacles arose, he powered through to fulfill the dream he had ever since he was a child growing up in a farming family.
Plaatjie, a livestock farmer from Logageng in Mahikeng in North West, says last year alone he experienced eight of his livestock, mainly cattle, dying and lost 65 goats through stock theft.
“Farming is something that I love doing, I am doing it out of love. What really keeps me going is the passion within me to be in agriculture,” he says.
A devastating year
While 2022 was a testing year, he remains resolute to continue farming and feeding his family.
“At some point, I just wanted to drop everything and leave, however, I kept going. It is extremely hard to lose your livestock in the way I did.
“It was during the night when I got a notification that my livestock was missing in the kraal. I went there and found nothing. It was dark, raining and I had no light to try to follow up. I just gave up and returned home [because] I also did not want to risk my life.”
Plaatjie says it was this setback that made him strive to achieve more as a young farmer who intends to be a renowned commercial farmer soon.
Not giving up
He has experienced so much stock theft in the past few years that he’s lost count of how many animals have gone missing from his kraal.
“I have been farming for the past seven years and all I can say is that farming is a nice journey to embark on. However, it is not easy, it needs one to have a thick skin because such challenges can either make or break you.”
Plaatjie holds a certificate in animal production from AgriSETA, and a business management degree from North-West University. He says the two qualifications are extremely important for him to ensure he runs a successful business venture.
He farms on 82 hectares of communal land with Simbra cross cattle, goats and sheep and intends to get into crop farming soon.
“At the moment, my market is auctions and I do hope to expand my market soon. Currently, I do not have anyone assisting me. I do everything myself as I am trying to build a strong entity that could see me employing people,” he adds.
Communal land challenges
Lack of access to water for his livestock, stock theft, and non-cooperation from other farmers in the village, are some of the everyday challenges that Plaatjie has to go through as a farmer in North West.
“I would like to see myself having my own piece of land because working on a communal land has got its own challenges, which at times, is beyond my control,” he admits.
He urges people with the means of getting into farming to do so for the betterment of their community and livelihoods.
“Farming is something sustainable but with a lot of obstacles, it requires only hard work and passion. Farming is a good career choice, there is life in farming.
“However, it does not come easy. It has a lot of obstacles and requires patience and determination to win.”
Plaatjie says his family is his pillar of strength and they motivate him to go the extra mile even on days when he does not feel like doing anything.
“Going through what I went through needs one to have a solid support base, and my family has been there from day one. It has not been an easy journey, but they have kept me going and they are still doing it even now, I appreciate their support,” he says.
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