• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Lifestyle
Through his company, Iboyana agri farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

30th June 2022
This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

13th August 2022
His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

12th August 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

12th August 2022
Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

12th August 2022
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022
Thanks to Netafim’s innovative solutions, drip irrigation is within reach of small-scale farmers. Photo: Supplied

Yes, precision irrigation is possible on a budget

11th August 2022
There's been a major breakthrough with South African citrus containers that have been contained at European ports. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Relief! Govt convinces EU to save SA citrus

11th August 2022
Willem Booise (left) is a trustee and has won the industry’s Specialist Agricultural Worker of the Year award in 2018. Photo: Supplied/Hortgro

Fruit farm shows there’s power in transformation

11th August 2022
Many people love avocados, but did you know that the introduction of just one of these fruits per day can improve the overall quality of your diet? Photo: Pixabay

An avocado a day can keep the doctor away

10th August 2022
Davidzo Chizhengeni, animal scientist, founder of KvD livestock, Ika Cronje, farmer and participant in the Corteva Women Agripreneur 2022 programme, Vuyokazi Makapela, a Director at Afrivet, and permaculture farmer, Stephanie Mullins. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

10th August 2022
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
11 GLOBAL MEDIA AWARDS
Saturday, August 13, 2022
Food For Mzansi
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
    • All
    • AgriCareers
    • Entrepreneurs
    • Farmers
    • Groundbreakers
    • Innovators
    • Inspiration
    • It Takes a Village
    • Mentors
    • Movers and Shakers
    • Partnerships
    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

    His life took a turn for the worst when he ended up in jail for dealing in drugs, but Thembinkosi Matika turned his life around and now helps others through his Legacy Farming Project. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

    Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Agripreneur 101: Creating a beauty brand

    Claire and Martin Joubert have sacrificed and struggled to become top breeders of Ankole cattle in South Africa. But giving up was never an option, because they wanted to offer only the very best Ankole genetics in the country. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

    Farming couple lives and breathes Ankole cattle

    Tackling climate change, one tree at a time

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Agricareers: Veterinary science not for the timid

    Once struggling farm now a family heirloom

    This drone is collecting data which farmers can then access on the yield management platform. Photo: Supplied/Aerobotics

    Optimal yields now at farmers’ finger tips

  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought
No Result
View All Result
Food For Mzansi

Self-taught farmer doing his bit for the greater good

There's nothing more heartwarming than when someone shares their passion and knowledge with a smile on their face. Meet Mhlengi Ngcobo, who does it all for free

by Duncan Masiwa
30th June 2022
in Changemakers, Inspiration
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
Through his company, Iboyana agri farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Through his company, Iboyana Agri Farming, Mhlengi Ngcobo is changing the lives of youth and women in his community. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

In agriculture, it often takes a village to make a real impact and 24-year-old Mhlengi Ngcobo understands this very well. For the greater good of his community, this self-taught farmer is on a mission, exposing youth and women to agriculture as a means to ward off unemployment and poverty.

Barely four years into his farming journey of growing cash crops and maize, Ngcobo is already coming up with different ways he can invest back into his community and surroundings.

One way he is doing this is by opening his wallet and farm, and availing himself to women and youth from underprivileged villages and informal settlements to pass on all he knows about agriculture.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I am a strong believer that we can gain our economic freedom and sustain our livelihoods through farming.”

Exposing the younger generation

Recently, Ngcobo hosted an event on his farm in Ndwedwe, a town in Ilembe District Municipality, to which aspiring farmers flocked in numbers.

The event provided training for participants on farming using hydroponics systems as well as agro-processing. Those in attendance were also schooled on the entrepreneurial side of agriculture, Ngcobo said.

“The main reason why I hosted this [specific] event was that I wanted to give exposure to students studying agriculture.

“It was also to develop and empower local youth, especially those unemployed. I wanted to help change the narrative of how black communities view agriculture. For the longest time, agriculture has been viewed as suitable for only a certain race or gender,” he said.

ALSO READ: Farmer’s hilarious eggplant dance has Mzansi vibing

24-year-old Mhlengi Ngcobo from KwaZulu-Ntala is mentoring youth and women from underprivileged villages and informal settlements. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi
24-year-old Mhlengi Ngcobo from KwaZulu-Natal is mentoring youth and women from underprivileged villages and informal settlements. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

A heart for the people

It is not the first time that this young farmer has hosted an event of this kind. Before opening his farm gates to enthusiastic learners, Ngcobo would invite youth and host them in one of the local town halls.

“This time around, I wanted people to get a feel of what a farmer goes through on a daily basis in terms of running the farm and the tasks involved.”

Ngcobo has been training youth and women from underprivileged villages and informal settlements for the past two years now. He’s been doing it free of charge. The training is entirely funded by his company, Iboyana Agri Farming.

With a heart for his community, it’s no wonder he received an award during the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Business Awards last year. Ngcobo was recognised as social entrepreneur of the year.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I am a strong believer that we can gain our economic freedom and sustain our livelihoods through farming, as well as curb the high unemployment rate. The sector is broad, most people think [only as far as] seeds and soil. Through these training sessions, we also get to expose people to several possibilities in farming.”

And while the farmer may still be a long way from commercial success, he’s definitely one to watch.

Get Stories of Change: Inspirational stories from the people that feed Mzansi.

Tags: crop productionKwaZulu-Natalmaize farmingtraining
Previous Post

Technology not a priority for Africa’s smallholder farmers

Next Post

Drought-burdened farmers receive R48m. in fodder

Duncan Masiwa

Duncan Masiwa

DUNCAN MASIWA is a budding journalist with a passion for telling great agricultural stories. He hails from Macassar, close to Somerset West in the Western Cape, where he first started writing for the Helderberg Gazette community newspaper. Besides making a name for himself as a columnist, he is also an avid poet who has shared stages with artists like Mahalia Buchanan, Charisma Hanekam, Jesse Jordan and Motlatsi Mofatse.

Related Posts

Some of the children with the ECD practitioner Yolanda Shabalala. Zero2Five Trust promotes holistic Early Childhood Development in formerly disadvantaged areas by improving learners’ health and education outcomes with nutrition and education programmes. Photo: Supplied/Zero2Five Trust

Zero2Five: Giving hope to KZN flood victims

by Staff Reporter
27th July 2022
0

The Zero2Five Trust has been working tirelessly to provide children and their families with food parcels and blankets in the...

KZN event shining a light on the dairy industry

KZN event shining a light on the dairy industry

by Nicole Ludolph
27th July 2022
0

EVENT: KPR Conference and Trading is hosting a three-day dairy farming event in August to shine a light on the...

Public servants sow good deeds across Mzansi

Public servants sow good deeds across Mzansi

by Staff Reporter
20th July 2022
0

In pictures: It's a wrap. Mandela Day 2022 once again saw thousands of South Africans spend at least 67 minutes...

In this episode on natural disasters that threaten agricultural production, we are joined by Andrea Campher, Agri SA’s risk and disaster manager. Photo:Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Podcast: Managing disasters in the farming sector

by Vateka Halile
10th July 2022
0

FARMER'S INSIDE TRACK: With April's floods in KwaZulu-Natal a prime example, a risk and disaster expert examines what the government...

Next Post
Parts of the Western Cape, such as the Central Karoo, are still experiencing drought. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Drought-burdened farmers receive R48m. in fodder

Households in South Africa could be in for some respite in the coming months on food prices. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi
News

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

by Duncan Masiwa
12th August 2022
0

There’s a whole list of basic food items that are set to become cheaper soon. But there are factors at...

Read more
Archive photo. Western Cape agri MEC Ivan Meyer highlighted small towns' dependence on agriculture during a recent provincial summit with municipal leaders. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

12th August 2022
Christo Van der Rheede is the executive director of Agri SA. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

12th August 2022
Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

11th August 2022
Thanks to Netafim’s innovative solutions, drip irrigation is within reach of small-scale farmers. Photo: Supplied

Yes, precision irrigation is possible on a budget

11th August 2022

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

Podcast: Prevent rabies with vaccination

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

Seasonal farmworkers struggle to get UIF

Bumper harvest for Mzansi’s olive growers

She bosses: ‘We see farming changing for good’

THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 12 global awards in the first three years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

How the Internet of Things is transforming agri

Drug dealer turned farmer ploughs back

Beat the winter blues with yummy butter chicken

Food may soon be cheaper. What’s the catch?

ICYMI: MEC lines up municipal support for farmers

Former music teacher leads agri’s greatest symphony

  • Our Story
  • Contact Us
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright

Contact us
Office: +27 21 879 1824
News: info@foodformzansi.co.za
Advertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Changemakers
  • Lifestyle
  • Farmer’s Inside Track
  • Food for Thought

Copyright © 2021 Food for Mzansi

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.