It’s been four months since Food For Mzansi launched Farmer’s Inside Track, an exclusive platform for up-and-coming farmers and new entrants into agri-businesses and it’s been a hell of a ride.
The weekly Farmer’s Inside Track – available in different platforms, including videos, podcasts, a weekly e-mailer and a bustling Facebook group – is the result of months of behind-the-scenes work and we’re gearing up for our second podcast season that kicks off in March this year.
As part of the break to prepare for season two, Food For Mzansi co-founder Kobus Louwrens chose his favourite podcast from season one, and this week we repeat our interview with hydroponics farmer Byron Booysen.
As a young lad growing up in Burgersdorp in the Eastern Cape, Byron Booysen always considered growing food and feeding the nation to be quite a cool thing to do. Being part of a family renowned for owning several businesses, he too, wanted to flex his entrepreneurial muscles. Farming however, never crossed his mind.
Today, the 29-year-old is the managing director of Booysen’s Tunnel Farming and farms with cocktail and beef tomatoes in Kraaifontein, Cape Town.
The young hydroponics farmer joins Food For Mzansi editor Dawn Noemdoe and co-founder Kobus Louwrens on this week’s Farmer’s Inside Track, podcast episode.
In the podcast he shares enlightening snippets from his agricultural journey. Booysen explains that he knows all too well how daunting the process of applying for funding can be and shares a few tips on how aspiring commercial farmers can make the process easier on themselves.
“Having access to sources like the Farmer’s Inside Track is very helpful. Having access to communications is also key. There’s always a number that can give you another number that can help you,” Booysen explains.
His choice to pursue hydroponics, Booysen says, was strategic and he shares with Noemdoe and Louwrens why exactly he chose this method of farming.
“I chose hydroponics because of land availability. I knew that I had 1 hectare of land available and planting in soil would not give me the yields that I would have wanted. Therefore, growing tomatoes vertically makes up for the space,” Booysen says,
Further in the podcast, Booysen shares how he navigates through the challenge of accessing quality water for his farm. He also recalls some of the mistakes he made as a learner farmer, which eventually had a favourable outcome.
The Farmer’s Inside Track podcasts and videos are recorded in both Cape Town and Johannesburg and are available on different platforms, including a weekly e-mailer, a WhatsApp line and a bustling Facebook group.
To get free access to all the exclusive content on Farmer’s Inside Track, head to farmersinsidetrack.co.za and sign up. To join the WhatsApp line, either click here or send a WhatsApp with the message “Sign me up for Farmer’s Inside Track” to +27 81 889 9032, providing your name and surname, e-mail address and province.
- Farmer’s Inside Track is proudly brought to you by Food For Mzansi, Africa’s Best Digital News Start-up. Advertisers who wish to explore opportunities on any of the Farmer’s Inside Track channels can e-mail ivor@foodformzansi.co.za and kobus@foodformzansi.co.za.
