The greatest obstacles young black farmers in South Africa face include the lack of support, training, access to markets, finance, the price of inputs and mentorship. In this week’s Farmer’s Inside Track video episode 26-year-old Siviwe Tikana shares his personal story of surviving as a young, black dairy farmer in Mzansi.
Tikana is the general manager of their family-run business, Rosedene Dairy Farm, in East London in the Eastern Cape. They bottle about 20 000 litres of milk per month on their 42-hectare property which is also equipped with a milk processing facility.
The farmer admits that farming is a rewarding profession despite its challenges, but the colour of his skin and the date on his birth certificate means he has had to work twice as hard.
“It’s quite difficult being a black farmer and as young as I am. No-one takes you seriously. You have to push harder than everyone else,” Tikana states in the video.
He also talks about business decisions that have cost him dearly, markets not being owned by black people, unfruitful partnerships and why buying something as simple as feed, is often a challenge for him.
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