For Mangaliso Mokoape, improving the lives of others is a calling. Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, she tried her hand at many industries before settling in farming. Today Mokoape is thriving and one of the extraordinary female farmers participating in the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme 2021, a year-long blended development programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) Entrepreneurship Development Academy (EDA).
Mokoape, who describes herself as a social entrepreneur and is a philanthropist by reputation, grew up in an education-focused family and obtained a bachelor’s degree in administration from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. “I [also] obtained my master’s degree in Media Studies from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.”
Her career journey has been varied, with her having worked in the human resources, hospitality and public relations industries, to name a few. She has, however, always worked as a skills developer. It was through skills development that she ended up in farming.
“My farming journey started in 2019 with a social intervention project at the schools at which I deliver skills development initiatives. [The project], Mangaliso AgriSolutions, plays the role of consultancy to facilitate the farming and distribution process among all stakeholders. The schools and the community at large use the school grounds as shared spaces to garden and grow food. Our main crops are tomatoes, spinach and kale.”
Mangaliso AgriSolutions grew from the community skills development programme Mokoape was running. She taught digital skills in schools around Gauteng and, as time went on, started expanding into farming with the establishment of school gardens.
With this project, Mokoape could bring her passion for helping others to bear. “This project serves as a way of eradicating food insecurity, but also, [it is] as a way of promoting shared value within communities.”
A nurturing spirit
Mokoape comes from a farming family and eventually joined the family business in 2020. “During the pandemic, I ventured into commercial farming by joining [our] existing family farming business. The Mokoape family farms [with] moringa, garlic, tomatoes, spinach, turmeric and herbs on a plot north of Pretoria.”
After she started her school gardening project, Mokoape was well and truly bitten by the farming bug. A single mother of a 15-year-old daughter, she finds that her natural instinct is to nurture, which is a quality with which she says farming lines up perfectly.
“I love farming because of the satisfaction one gets from seeing a seed grow from nothing to something. I think this process resonates with me as a mother who enjoys nurturing. I find farming to be an extremely rewarding process. I am also a lover of nature, so this passion aligns with two of my strong desires: preserving nature and increasing productivity to eradicate food insecurity.”
Her farming journey is, of course, not without challenges. Currently, the biggest obstacle she faces is limited access to resources due to her gender.
“The biggest challenge I have experienced as a woman farmer is access to resources – particularly land and financial resources. Although there are visible efforts being made, gender bias is still very prevalent in the farming sector. The industry remains male dominated,” she says.
“Other challenges I have faced are the ability to attract and keep skilled labour, and maintaining security on the property.”
She is currently one of the extraordinary farmers participating in the Corteva Women Agripreneur Programme 2021, and has three simple pieces of advice for other women wanting to start farming. “Do your research and know your business in and out. Prepare a viable business plan demonstrating profitability. Find your niche.”
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