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.