What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

I would love to see Amandla Ubuntu really make a difference for women in South Africa. I’d love to see some of the crafters and artists I am working with become totally self-sufficient and perhaps even start their own businesses. I’d like to scale the business so that we offer business workshops, training and support to give them the skills to be successful – and financially independent. As well as running the product side of the business, I have also been busy lecturing MBA students and providing business advice to charities. I am planning to grow this side of the business to be able to provide business coaching and leadership skills to women.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

it sounds like a cliche, but being able to live my dream. Managing my own time, having the conversations I want to have, meeting wonderful, inspirational people along the way – and doing something that truly makes my heart sing.

What’s the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

My biggest piece of advice is to have purpose. Many people have business ideas, but lack the passion and purpose to make them successful. Be ok with having bad days – starting your own business isn’t always easy and sometimes things don’t go your way. Don’t be afraid to try – if you get something wrong, so what? But learn from it and move on. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and will give you honest advice and cups of tea and hugs when you need it!

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | EMAIL  victoria@amandlaubuntu.com

Why LoA loves it….

At Lionesses of Africa, we love to see other social entrepreneurs making a real difference to the lives of others through the work they do, and in the case of Victoria Orr, she is making positive change happen. She is harnessing her experience, passion and commitment to tackle the growing issue of gender-based violence in South Africa, creating opportunities for women to achieve financial independence. Victoria is changing lives for the better and is a real inspiration to so many people who need lasting change to happen for women. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa

Dineo Mokgoshi was looking for an opportunity to invest her money in a business that would offer good returns. She never would have imagined a future as a full­time farmer – until she was inspired by the story of a woman farmer who rose to the challenge and achieved great success in the world of agriculture. Dineo shares her own transformational journey with African Farming.

Budding entrepreneur Dineo Mokgoshi was on the lookout for new investment opportunities when a relative told her that cattle farming was a lucrative business with good returns. At the time, Dineo had a full­time job and a few side hustles, catering for functions and hosting international tourists.

“My friend and I ran a tourist­hosting company at the Fountain Valley Resort in Groenkloof Nature Reserve in Pretoria. We set up a caravan and camping site and let caravans and tents to tourists who enjoyed the city, but preferred being outside in nature than staying in hotels. Tourists, especially Europeans, loved the experience and paid good money for it,” she says.

ROLE MODEL

In 2005, using her bonus and her savings, Dineo bought 26 mixed­breed cows and a white Brahman bull. At the time she was living in Pretoria, so she ran the cattle on land in Winterveld, about 40km northwest of the city, that belonged to her in­laws.

“I learnt the basics of farming by reading any material I could find.” That’s how she came across the magazine article that changed her perspective on farming. “I saw it as a part-­time gig. I didn’t really intend to get my hands dirty, let alone move to the rural areas,” laughs Dineo.

The article was about Dorah Matlou from Rust de Winter in Limpopo. “Her story touched my heart and gave me courage. She overcame many challenges to establish a profitable award­winning farming operation. I promised myself I would follow her lead; she’d be my role model.”

Fifteen years down the line, Dineo has kept her word. She has established Segometsi Bakgoshi Agricultural Cooperative, a successful mixed-farming operation with 48 000 laying hens, flocks of more than 120 sheep and goats, 120 Pinzgauer cattle and a PinZ²yl stud herd, as well as a commercial cattle herd of 133 Brahman-type animals.

“We’ve just finished building a 25 000-layer house, which means we can take the layer operation to 73 000 birds,” she explains. She employs 16 permanent employees and offers practical training to 22 university students every year. There are two supervisors and one farm manager, all with university degrees.

Dineo admits things were not easy in the beginning. “It was a long, tough journey. We worked extremely hard to get to where we are today. I owe so much to my supportive family, especially my husband. When we sold the house and left the cushy suburban lifestyle to move to Winterveld, he was right behind me.” They relocated to Winterveld when the increased cattle numbers could no longer be accommodated on the small family plot.

“I also learnt from Dorah’s story, and from other successful farmers, that being on the farm full time is non-negotiable when you’re building a successful enterprise.” In 2009, on her way to a friend’s birthday party, Dineo spotted vacant land in Winterveld. After spending many months searching for the family of its deceased owner, she bought the 17ha plot in 2010.

At the time, says Dineo, business was booming thanks to the 2010 Fifa World Cup being hosted in South Africa.

“I built my house, moved in and started setting up infrastructure for the livestock. Because it is not a big piece of land, we were and still are part of the communal grazing system. Our cattle graze on the communal area during the day and we bring them back to kraal at home in the evening. Growing and diversifying, Dineo started buying in sheep and goats.

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POULTRY FOR CASH FLOW

Dineo soon realised livestock does not generate a consistent cash flow, so in 2013 she decided to venture into poultry and bought 7 000 broilers. However, in a combination of unlucky timing and seriously bad weather, she was hit by a hailstorm that killed all the chickens and 19 cattle.

“I picked myself up and dusted off the terrible losses. The following year I entered the Gauteng Female Farmer of the Year Awards and came second.” The R40 000 prize gave her the motivation and the money to try poultry again. This time she went for layers. “I built three 2 000-layer houses in 2015, but funds ran out halfway through the project.” So she sold eight bull calves for cash to complete the project. But once the houses were built, there was no money for chickens!

“We underbudgeted, estimating a cost of R40 to R55 a bird. To my shock, a single bird was R90 at that time.” Dineo was stuck with empty cages for a few months. Then, in January 2016, with the help of her extension officer, she was able to access government support. A thousand layers, with the necessary feed, were delivered to her farm.

“They weren’t enough to fill a house, but it was a start!” By chance, Dineo saw an invitation in a newspaper, calling for bidders to supply Gauteng government hospitals in Ekurhuleni with 100 boxes of eggs a day. “I only had 1 000 chickens producing five boxes a day, but I took the plunge,” she says, laughing.

She got the contract and then had to source 95 more boxes in a hurry. Driving as far as the West Rand and to Magaliesburg, she found suppliers to help her meet her contractual obligations. The business generated a healthy profit through this contract, which meant she could increase her own capacity. Soon the other two houses were filled with layers and later she built three more houses, each with a 5 000-layer carrying capacity.

“By 2017 I had 20 000 layers and was able to reduce the outsourcing.” By the time the contract ended in June 2018, Dineo had increased her capacity to 48 000 birds.

“I’ve recently built another 25 000-layer house. Once this one is equipped and stocked, my production will rise to 73 000 laying hens,” she says. Her plan is to increase production by a further 100 000 layers, and she has just concluded talks with an existing client who wants to increase their supply to 25 000 boxes a month.

“We supply 2 400 boxes to formal clients every week. We also sell to the public, including hawkers and spaza shop owners.” Dineo buys point-of-lay hens and day-old chicks for replacement stock. She uses HyLine Silver, Hy Line Brown and Lohmann Brown breeds.

“Initially I only bought point-of-lays, but since completing an Agricultural Research Council course in raising day-old layer chicks last year, I’ve successfully raised 16 000 chicks that are now in production,” she says.

It takes four to five months to raise the chicks. Dineo feeds a pre-starter ration to the new chicks, followed by a starter feed ration (20% protein) until they are six weeks old. They switch to a grower feed (18% protein) until they are 12 to 14 weeks old.

“At about 18 weeks, we feed the developer ration until they start producing small pullet eggs. We start them on pre-lay and then laying mesh when they are 20 weeks old,” she adds.

During peak lay, the hens produce large and extra-large eggs, whereas towards the end of their production life they lay jumbo and super-jumbo eggs.

“The frequency of laying also changes,” Dineo says. Although the norm is to keep layers for a minimum of a year, she culls her layers at 18 months. “If you have quality breeds, vaccinate consistently and feed quality rations, chickens will lay for up to 18 months.”

Laying hens eat about 0.01kg of laying mash every day, Dineo says. “For my 12 000 bird house, I use about 1t (20 bags of 50kg each) per day on average. I add four extra bags to balance things out for those who consume more than others, because of different sizes and eating habits.”

The layer operation uses about 3.5t of feed every day and Dineo collects between 43 000 and 44 000 eggs a day from her 48 000 layers.

LAND AND LIVESTOCK

Dineo is part of the ZZ2 Pinzgauer and PinZ²yl study group and runs her cattle (68 Pinzgauer and 52 PinZ²yl breeding cows) at the famous ZZ2 tomato farm in Limpopo’s Mooketsi Valley. This is where Bertie van Zyl founded the giant farming group that today farms across the country today and is arguably the biggest producer of tomatoes in the southern hemisphere.

This programme was founded ZZ2’s late herd manager, the legendary Paul Bester. Dineo says they pay a herdsman and a grazing fee for the service. “I don’t have the land to keep the cattle, so this arrangement works for me.”

In Winterveld she runs 133 breeding Brahman-type cows, and 130 sheep and goats on communal land. “We try to control the system, but it can be difficult – and sometimes impossible,” she says. The cattle are fed supplements at “home” and given fresh drinking water from a borehole.

Phosphate licks are given in summer and protein licks in winter. “We have to stop them from drinking from the Tolwane river, as it is highly contaminated with raw sewage,” Dineo says.

This situation is far from ideal, so she’s on the hunt for her own land where she could consolidate her livestock herds and manage the cattle more intensively.

And so Dineo keeps pursuing her goals, always following Dorah’s motto of “never give up” – an inspirational farmer in her own right, with a great future ahead of her.

Lindiwe Sithole, brand new host of African Farming season two, visited Green Terrace where she met the chief executive officer, Mbali Nwoko. Sithole picked up valuable farming tips from Nwoko’s farming business, and learned more on how Nwoko, an award-winning farmer, grew her small business to become more competitive.

Building trust between two parties, can only be established by spending time with each other. That is why Sylvester Lubambo, Training and Development Manager at Lemang Agricultural Services believes feet on the ground is critical in an effort to providing farmers support. He talked about how service providers can optimally support farmers, during a panel discussion on the show.

“It is important that we as service providers are there for farmers,” he said. Being there (doing farm visits) according to him enables service providers to not only share best practise with farmers but also give consultants an opportunity to understand the challenges farmers face. “We need to be able to carry farmers in trying times, helping them to overcome their challenges by listening and then devising a plan together to find a solution.”

Lubambo said service providers should assure farmers that they do not desire to take over the business – “Farmers should know that they are in control at all times but also know that we offer to support them in developing a workable plan to grow their business . This plan should cover various topics like governance, finances and understanding the economic aspects of their farming enterprise.”

He believes it is crucial for service providers to be available when needed. “If we want to understand what makes a farmer tick, and help a farmer to succeed, we need to stay close to them. This enables us to pick up what their true needs are, and what needs to be done. Most of the farmers I worked with end up investing in formal and informal training.”

To find out more about Lemang Agricultural Services e-mail Lubambo: sylvester.lubambo@afgri.co​.za