by Olwetu Batyi | Sep 12, 2022 | Uncategorized
Thobeka’s stud breeding
WITH just two years producing vegetables sold to retail stores nationwide, Thobeka Tebe, 45,now is producing stud breeding of precious sheep and cattle breeds. Tebe is pinning herhopes on the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform’s support to farmers, in particular the livestock improvement scheme.
Tebe runs a 350ha farm in the GubenxaValley just outside Elliot, 300ha is grazing pastures and she grows crops and livestockfeed on 50ha. She farms South African Merino sheep and Boran cattle breeds that are bothprized for high resilience and survive on lower quality forage than most other breeds.
“I never went to school to study agriculture but it was sheer love for nature and breeding that brought me to the sector. I can attribute my progress to being willing to learn from those who have traversed this road before me and it’s giving handsome returns from crops to livestock, I now want to make a mark on stud breeding,” said Tebe.
According to Tebe, Boran cattle are known for their fertility, early maturation, adaptability to a wide range of climatic conditions, parasites and grow quite old, with cows of fifteen years of age still yielding good quality offspring. With these characteristics she said the breed has a potential to reduce the burden of feed costs to farmers especially in a country that has been gripped by feed shortages due to drought and climatic changes.
“There’s quite a few breeders of Boran in our province and I only know them from East London, Graaff-Reinet and Fort Beaufort, but none of them is a woman. My cattle are also registered with the Boran Society –something which makes me a reliable and recognised breeder,” she added. Following last season’s sale of some of her animals, Tebe is left with 20 cattle – cows, heifers and a single three-year-old bull named Madlabantu and plans to increase her herd.
“If I can get just one more Boran bull and a few heifers I would be fine because Madlabantu is still young and doing his job just well. The other bull would take care of the new heifers. And I depend on a single ram for my flock. I hope the DRDAR comes to my aid with more ewes and rams so
that I can be able to supply even other farmers who want to venture into these low-maintenance yet prized breeds,” she said.
Apart from stud breeding, Tebe sells her livestock to both formal and informal markets in and around the Joe Gqabi District with her wool sold overseas through market agents. Tebe recently relayed her ambitions to the DRDAR MEC Nonkqubela Pieters during her meeting with farmers of the Gubenxa Valley.Pieters advised them to continue applying for support from the department
and ensure that they follow the instructions outlined in the adverts and comply with them.
“The issue with many, not all, is compliance. For instance, Tebe had applied for fencing last year but she didn’t have the required documentation for the lease of the land she is working. Let’s continuously work on compliance and in due time, everyone who is deserving will be assisted because the list is quite long,” said Pieters.
DRDAR has so far assisted Tebe with training towards the South African Good Agricultural
Practices certificate (GAP), potato seeds and advisory support.
by Olwetu Batyi | Sep 12, 2022 | Uncategorized
EC households milk more goats and sheep than cattle, Surveys
More households in the Eastern Cape province milk goats and sheep more than cattle, a survey by
scientists working at the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform’s Dohne. Agriculture Development Institute has found.
Speaking about the results of the survey, one of the scientists, Dr Jean Rust said: “the actual milk
production in litres per household per day in all livestock species across all districts is very low for
cattle and surpassingly popular for goats and sheep.”
For this survey, Rust worked with other scientists, Mr Mabutho Mkhungela and Mr Tinashe Kumburai.
Rust said the availability, manageability, lower maintenance of goats and sheep can potentially
play a role in this regard, adding that though there seemed to be some potential for communal
household milk production, serious development was needed for sustainability. Rust said the survey,
which was conducted between June 2014 and May 2015 was aimed at getting a better understanding of milk production and consumption dynamics in the Eastern Cape province.
A total of 500 households in the five districts of Amathole, Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo and Joe Gqabi drawn from 5 communities per district, 20 households per community and 100 households per district participated in the survey.
“Household characteristics, production system characteristics and production levels are very similar
across the different districts. Members supported by households were surprisingly high,” said Rust. The survey also found that households owning these animals which are miles for their consumption had a good record of arable land allocated to them, however no record of communal grazing land available to each household.
He said the main reason for milking the animals was for their own consumption and the number of animals used per household for milking for consumption are very low, ranging from
by Olwetu Batyi | Sep 12, 2022 | Uncategorized
Four silos to help farmer get better price for maize produce
By Thozi kaManyisana
One of leading women grain farmers in the Easstern Cape, Ms Zoliwe Nombewu is hoping to make huge profits from her maize harvest thanks to the four temporary silos the the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR), which allow her to store maize to sell at the right time.
Award-winning Nombewu from Gotyibeni village praised DRDAR for supporting her with four 130 tons temporary silos with its auger feeder.
“The temporary silos will ensure I get huge profits because I’ll store my maize until the market price has risen. Before this support, I’d sell my maize while it is still cheap and I’d lose out but now I’ll keep and wait. My maize used toon the fields when I didn’t have silos if I kept it until prices were high. “The department’s intervention will make me grow and become a sustainable commercial farmer while I’m in the communal areas. I’m where I am as a business person because of the support from the department,” she said.
For a person who started farming with vegetable production on only two hectares of land in 2008, Nombewu is a force to be reckoned with as she now produce maize and dry beans on 300ha of land. She has also planted 5ha to motivate the community of Madwaleni village where she has leased the land she’s working.
On top of the silos, DRDAR has been supported her with production inputs to plant 64ha of maize through its flagship cropping programme. She was also assisted with a borehole for vegetable production as well as vegetable seedlings to continue producing on the 2ha of land she started with.
The farmer owns a fleet of 12 tractors, a combined harvester, 4 no-till planters, 12 ploughs, four discs, four 800 litre C sprayers, potato planter and its planter and a fine seed planter for vegetables. Her tractors were last year contracted by DRDAR through its partnership with Grain SA.
Nombewu was approached by subsistence farmers in the Madwaleni area to help them fence and plant their fallow land, which she did. She said when the land was tested it was discovered that it was not in good condition but she invested in lime and quality fertilizer.
“The results are now amazing,” she said. She sells her products to local agricultural products wholesalers in Mthatha, Qumbu and Tsolo as wells as local people.
by Olwetu Batyi | Sep 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
Govt. investment grows female farmer’s business
By Sanele James
EASTERN CAPE’s Rural Development and Agrarian Reform MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters describes Aliwal North’s young female farmer, Dintle Maphala a ‘fertile land’ that motivates the farmer to plough more. Pieters said this during her monitoring visit to Maphala’s farm in the Joe Gqabi District to see work at this mixed farming enterprise which jumped to greater heights expanding its operations following investments by various government departments and state-owned enterprises.
“Looking at what this business has become and it being managed by a young woman, the popular notion that says the government is spending taxpayers’ money carelessly needs to come to an end. It is development like what I see here that encourage the government and other investors to throw in more money. Land that produces good yields is always encouraging to the farmer. You are that land Dintle,” said Pieters.
In her 287ha size Goedehoop farm she got from her parents back in 2016, Maphala farms with brangus beef cattle, poultry, vegetables with mohair being her major commodities. DRDAR invested 30 Angora goats in the Maphala’s thriving business, 28 are ewes and two bucks through its Livestock Improvement Scheme, allowing her to phase out her mixed breed goats not yielding good wool clip quality.
The injection by DRDAR grew Maphala’s herd to 302 goats which she shears two times during the annual shearing season starting in each September. Maphala described government’s investment in her business as a springboard that shot her up to participate meaningfully in the production business.
“I am no longer doubtful of myself and the work I do. I produce both the quality and the quantity the market demands and this is through the investment made by DRDAR and Mohair SA in my business,” said Maphala. The DRDAR also fence her farm, completed her primary wool production needs with a shearing shed with all accessories starting from baling machine, sorter and a compressor.
In 2020 she was selected by the Office of the Premier to undergo poultry production training at the Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute (TARDI). This was followed by the purchasing of an egg incubator and construction of the 1080 birds capacity poultry structure for her farming business. She packs and sells more than 300 eggs per day. After seeing the progress in the business SEDA stepped in and invested in egg packaging material and developed a business plan while the NYDA offered business management training to complement Maphala’s farm management qualification.
Maphala sells veggies, eggs to local supermarkets in Aliwal North and plans to stretch her supply of day-old chicks to places as far as Komani. The Joe Gqabi District Municipality has committed to assist her with solar energy infrastructure to help her incubator hatch more eggs inline with her business expansion plans.
“I’m planning to be one of the ambassadors making sure that the youth sees agriculture as a career and a sector that has a potential to simultaneously create employment and feed the nation. All the investment that the government is making in me is because of the good work and strides I am making. But I will have to pay it back by employing and mentoring other young farmers, something which I am already doing,” she said. During her visit, Pieters delivered 200 bales of Lucerne and chicken feed to Maphala’s business.
by Olwetu Batyi | Sep 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
Extension officer wins farmer’s hearts, yields good harvest
WHEN ANDISWA RALA, the Extension Officer for the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform responsible for Mvenyane village in Ntabankulu, started this job she faced some obstacles including men who did not expect a young woman to give them advice about their fields and livestock.
This inspired her to continue working with her clients and later she won their hearts. Her responsibilities as the Extension Office include giving advice to livestock farmers, food producing farmers and households in her ward.
Rala said the work of the Extension Officer is to advise farmers about agriculture, to facilitate programmes of the department to make sure that they reach farmers, make sure that farmers benefit from these programmes.
She feels honoured for being in the field previously regarded as a man’s job because women also have what it takes to work in agriculture.
“People who regard this as a men’s job, feel that women don’t have much role to play in agriculture. I think there is a lot that we can do as women in this field, this field has no gender bias and we have the energy to drive agriculture to yield the good results you see here in these fields,” said Rala referring to the Amantonta fields in Mvenyane.
She said her role started with introducing the programmes of the Department to the farmers so that they are interested.
“We took soil samples from this land for analysis. We we provide yield estimation to the farmers so that they know what yield to expect to plan ahead with their marketing strategy,” she said.
Rala said some of her male clients were so reluctant to take advice from her about how to manage their animals, crops in the fields, correction and education from her.
“At first it was a big challenge telling a man how to plough their field or how to manage their livestock but as we work together, being visible to them, they now know that we also want good outcomes for their businesses.
They accept us and they know us. They even come to us to seek advice because they understand us men was a beautiful thing to a point that they now call them to share their frustrations when their animals are sick excitement when they give birth and when they yield good harvest.
“It makes us feel good that DRDAR has put us in a better place by giving us these jobs and opportunities to represent women in this field.
Seeing results of the work I was part of is the most beautiful experience. These fields are on dry land as you can see. There is a lot that needs to be done before we start production. It means ours advice, listening to the farmers and them listening to us on what needs to be done. Seeing these results is a wonderful dream to manifest,” said Rala.
She attributed Amantonta’s beautiful 6 tonnes per hectare harvest to hard work, saying this makes them as Extension Services of the DRDAR very excited. Rala said she hopes other farmers will follow this example by approaching DRDAR offices so that they can benefit from this programme
