Emmanuel Mudau, of Mathuba Genetics in Limpopo, had his first brush with genetics during his childhood when he bred and reared pigeons as a hobby. Deliberate selection for colour traits in the birds gave Emmanuel an early opportunity to experiment with genetics. Years later, in 2016, Emmanuel joined a group of three other farmers and they started a genetics project breeding what became the Bosvelder sheep. He is the former founding deputy president of the Indigenous Veld Goat Breeders Society and the current founding deputy president of the Bosvelder Sheep Breeders Society.
A group of nine smallholder farmers from the North West province recently completed practical, hands-on training on potato production. A joint venture between the Agricultural Research Council and the provincial department of agriculture, the programme hopes to help alleviate poverty and joblessness by growing more potatoes. Peter Mashala visited the project.
The main aim of the project is simple – make more farmers in the deep rural areas of the province part of mainstream potato production. According to the province’s MEC of Agriculture, Desbo Mohono,the project, bankrolled by the North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, is part of her department’s Food Security Strategic Plan (FSSP).
Mohono says by supporting farmers and their production, the province addresses the FSSP’s main pillars – generating income and creating jobs, increasing the number of productive farmers, and expanding agricultural production in the province.
Nine farmers from across the province’s four district municipalities were part of the initiative. Desbo says statistics for the North West Province show the number of agricultural households in the province is currently below the national average of 13.8%. In addition, only 64.0% of the population has adequate access to food with 24.4% having inadequate access and 11.6% having severe inadequate access to food.
“Our province has the highest number of people with inadequate access to food and the third highest number of people suffering from hunger in the country.”
Desbo believes potato farming has the potential to address the issue. She says her department embarked on the initiative with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) with the aim of upskilling potential entrants to the potato industry.
Project manager and mentor, Dr Lerato Matsaunyane, Molecular Researcher – Plant Breeding at ARC Vegetable, Industrial and Medicinal Plants, says this project can change the mindset of smallholder farmers and unlock production potential in rural areas. Mthuthuzeli Latha from Jan Kempdorp says the trials made it easy for him to decide to diversify with potatoes.
“The high inputs costs should not deter our farmers to forge ahead because once in, rewards are great,” explains Desbo. Project manager, Dr Lerato Matsaunyane, plant-breeding specialist at the ARC, says the initiative started in 2020, following a successful potato demonstration trial done by the ARC at Kgora Farmers Training Centre outside Mahikeng. An estimated 62% of potato production is in Limpopo, Western and Eastern Free State, and the Sandveld, with the North West province trailing far behind.
Following the successful trial that showed it was feasible to grow potatoes commercially in the North West Province, Lerato, who is also from the province, approached the MEC to lobby her to support another trial.
“But this time, we wanted to do it with different farmers in the province who were interested in commercial production of potatoes,” explains Lerato. She says when the MEC bought into the idea, they approached 11 farmers who had land with the potential to grow potatoes.
These farmers were from all four districts of the province. The areas were Jan Kempdorp, Potchefstroom, Sannieshof, Tlapeng, Ramatlabama, Burhmansdrif, Lichtenburg, Brits, and Rustenburg, and each farmer produced one hectare fully funded by the department.
“The demographics included four women and five men, with one of the women categorised as youth,” says Lerato. Because growing potatoes is so expensive, farmers need to be properly trained, according to Lerato.
The project started by providing a week-long theoretical training at the Kgora Centre, which included modules such as Introduction to Potato Production; Holistic Approach to Production; Equipment Selection and Handling; Planting Material; Handling of Plant Material; Hygiene Standards; and Understanding Potato Varieties.
The participants were also taught about the different characteristics of potato varieties, classifying varieties, as well as their various uses.
“In class, we also focused on how different environmental conditions affect the growth of potatoes and how to choose sites for planting. We also trained the farmers on the importance of soil preparation, crop rotation, planting times, methods, and spacing,” says Lerato. She says the non-commitment of two farmers saw them drop out.
“We were left with only nine participants at the time planting commenced. The department make seed potatoes available, as well as fertilisers and chemicals,” she explains. After completing the theoretical training, the training moved to individual farms for the duration of the production season.
Due to high rainfall, planting started a little late. The first farmers started planting on 17 January 2022 with the last one planting as late as 21 February in the Rustenburg area. The seed potatoes used were the Lanorma cultivar bought from GWK. It is a medium- early table variety suitable for all soil types. All nine farmers planted on dry land. Mosidi Morule, one of the participants in Ramatlabama outside Mahikeng, says she planted on 22 January and managed to get a yield of 33t/ha.
A truck delivering the potatoes sponsored by the North-West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.Mosidi Morule says she will be expanding from 1ha to 2.5ha under irrigation in the next planting season.
“The expectation was anything up to 10 t/ha. However, we managed to surpass the target even on the sandy soil type I have on this farm,” explains Mosidi.
She says at first, she was sceptical about the whole thing because of the challenges they initially faced in the project.
“We had too much rain in the beginning and had issues with the tractor breaking down all the time. Under the guidance and mentorship of Dr Lerato Matsaunyane and Dr Flip Steyn, we managed to break through these barriers and had amazing results,” says Mosidi.
She says her plan now is to grow gradually into a commercial potato farmer. She is currently preparing to plant her next crop starting in September on 2.5ha. “Although we first ran the trial on dry land, I’m planning the next crop under irrigation,” says Mosidi. She explains that there are boreholes on the farm, but her main challenge would be irrigation infrastructure.
“We were lucky because we had lots of rain in the past year, but there is no guarantee that we’ll have good rainy seasons going forward. The plan is to use the proceeds of this harvest to try to put up an irrigation system,” Mosidi explains. She hopes that the department will sponsor them again with some inputs, such as seed potatoes, fertiliser and pesticides.
Another farmer, Mthuthuzeli Latha from Jan Kempdorp in the Vaalharts Irrigation Scheme, says the project came at the right time when he was planning to diversify and add cash crops to his livestock and grain operation. Mthuthuzeli says the trials made it easy for him to decide to diversify with potatoes.
“I never expected to perform so well on my first try, but because I had a good support system and committed mentors, I managed to surpass expectations,” he says. He says the role the department and the ARC played in evertything was enormous in opening farmers’ eyes to the possibilities and opportunities potato farming can bring to them as farmers.
“What was clear from these trials is that because of its labour intensiveness, econo mically, potato farming would contribute immensely towards job creation, something the province really needs,” says Mthuthuzeli.
He explains that commercialising and increasing productivity would improve liveli hoods and generate income in small towns and rural areas, as well as the empowerment of traders in the informal sector. Mthuthuzeli further states that the project also opened their eyes to what the role of the ARC was, and to what extent smallholder farmers can benefit from it.
The farmers were trained on various aspects of growing potatoes, including the importance of soil preparations, crop rotation, planting time, methods, and spacing, which all play a vital role in producing a good crop.
“Projects such as these bring these institutions to the people and ensure that their role is known and felt on the ground,” he says.
“By empowering these farmers through such programmes, they could adopt a commercial mindset that can unlock a powerhouse of rural development and food security in the province,” says Lerato. She explains that the primary potato sector is valued at R8 billion and the secondary sector at R25 billion.
“The commercial potato sector is well established, however black potato farmers contribute less than 1% of the total production in the country,” Lerato explains. She says the initiative not only trains farmers but is contributing towards sufficient food pro duction and sustainable job creation.
She says in South Africa, potatoes are mostly produced by a small number of large commercial farmers, whereas in the rest of the world potatoes are mainly produced by smallholder farmers.
“It is therefore viable to grow potatoes on a smaller scale and still make a commercial success. So it is important for the province to help increase the number of hectares planted to potatoes by smallolder farmers, as this can significantly contribute to job creation and food security in the province,” she explains.
Lerato adds that plans are in place to support farmers that have just been trained and to train more farmers in the future.
The winter season has peaked, slowing down some farming activities in many farming regions. But farmers in the warmer, frost-free regions of the country, such as Limpopo, are taking advantage of the short window period that gives them a competitive advantage over other regions to grow and supply the market with fresh produce.
POTATOES
Mosidi Morule, Ramatlabama, North West
We recently had our very first harvest of potatoes. This was a trial we completed with the Agricultural Research Council funded by the North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in an effort to help emerging farmers like us enter mainstream potato production.
We started the project by receiving theoretical training at the Kgora Farmers Training Centre outside Mahikeng. We learnt various aspects of potato production and completed a number of modules (read more about this on page 15). We also learned the different characteristics of potato varieties,
classifying varieties, as well as their various uses. The classes covered growing potatoes in different environmental conditions, choosing sites for planting, the importance of soil preparations, crop rotation, planting time, methods, and spacing.
I planted my first crop here on the farm in Ramatlabama on 22 January 2022. Although the season had a bumpy start with lots of rain and several mechanical problems, the crop turned out okay with a yield of 33t/ha, which was more than three times what we were expecting.
I’m now preparing for my second crop, which I should be planting in September.
We are preparing another 2.5 ha and we’re making plans to install an irrigation system. Fortunately, we have boreholes on the farm. Unlike the last crop, I will use irrigation as opposed to dry land production.
One of the golden rules for potato planting is rotation. I cannot repeat my planting in the same area that I planted in the past season. The land must rest at least another four years before I plant potatoes on it again. I’ll continuously be developing pieces of land until I can come back to the same areas.
The value of learning about farming from a young age is inestimable, but unfortunately, the policies of the past separated many potential farmers from the generational knowledge that should have been their birthright. Seitshiro Marumoloe was raised by his grandparents, who were small-scale farmers, and exposed to agriculture from his early childhood. His grandfather and mentor Hendrik Segatle farmed maize and sunflowers on communal land at Springbokpan village, close to Mahikeng in the North West province. Today Seitshiro is a commercial farmer and the proud producer of white maize, small white canning beans and sunflowers, which he grows on his farm near Sannieshof and on communal land in Springbokpan.
The winter season has peaked, slowing down some farming activities in many farming regions. But farmers in the warmer, frost-free regions of the country, such as Limpopo, are taking advantage of the short window period that gives them a competitive advantage over other regions to grow and supply the market with fresh produce.
Mampotse Koko, Ga-Masha Maite, Limpopo
We are farming on communal land and this area tends to be dry in winter.
Every year this time we provide additional food for the cattle, as well as supplements. We start building feed reserves by buying grass and lucerne before winter when the price is still reasonable, to prepare for this time.
The grazing pattern in winter changes – we release the cattle to graze in the evening and bring them back home in the morning. Then they get grass and lucerne bales. We also mix our own cheap supplement using maize chop (3x50kgbags),molasses(1x50kgbag),and cattle finisher (1 x 50 kg bag).
The biggest challenge we have here is overgrazing because we don’t have a proper management system, which would help us avoid this situation.
My cows are with the bull all year round, but we try and manage the breeding process. The bull is kept at home and does not roam with the cows to avoid it mating with other
cattle in the community. Because I’m not sure what other farmers are doing, and whether they follow proper primary health care principles, I may expose my bull to different types of diseases.
To try and reduce the cost of buying in bales, I’ve established half a hectare to grow lucerne. Last year I sold a few weaners to clear up about 1 ha, drill, and equip a borehole for irrigation.
The lucerne is coming along nicely and we’ll be ready to start cutting soon.
Keith and Jacqui Middleton have faced some tough challenges in 15 years of farming, but this has not weakened their determination to take their business to the top of the emerging commercial farming sector in the next ten years. The Middletons, whose farm African Joy is part of the Orange-Riet irrigation scheme near Jakobsdal in the Free State, farm with maize, lucerne and 10ha of pecan nut trees. They also run 150 Bonsmara cattle and 300 Merino sheep.
One of the ways to check if your animal is healthy is to check its temperature. We ask Animal Health Technician, Keneth Malatji of Afrivet to answer common questions on taking an animal’s temperature in the latest episode of African Farming Digital.
https://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Screenshot-2022-08-01-at-13.00.08.png400600super-adminhttps://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/logo.pngsuper-admin2022-08-01 18:52:002022-08-01 18:52:00Taking the temperature of your animal – African Farming
Like many of you, fear is not a stranger in our lives. Fear is a powerful force that can keep us from achieving our goals and live to our fullest potential. Is fear holding you back in pursuing your goals and dreams? Is fear holding you back in trying new things? Do you make excuses when it comes to start building your brand? If the response is YES, to above questions, you are not alone. I was like that and am still a work in progress.
Below are the 5 types of fears that were holding me back in building a personal brand and how I solved them:
1. Fear of “putting myself out there”
For years, I have been scared to put myself out there. I liked to remain on the back burner. I was scared to be vulnerable, to share my thoughts and my experiences. Self- promotion was the last thing on my mind and I always believed that my work would speak for itself.
Pro Tip: When you share your knowledge, expertise, people are receiving value from your content. Not only do you learn and grow but so does your community.
2. Fear of failure and rejection
I have always been scared thinking about what if I run out of content to share? What if no one likes my post? What if no one views my post? What if my writing is full of grammatical errors? These are the questions I still struggle with to date.
Pro Tip: Always remember that failure is part of success. I love this quote, “Why do we fall? So we can get up.” Don’t be afraid to get things wrong because you learn that way.
3. Fear of posing as an imposter
As always, the little voices, usually come in my head, “ Naike, what makes you think you are an expert on this subject matter? I get this fear of being discovered that I am incompetent!
Pro Tip: Try to silence these voices every day in your head and always keep track of your achievements that you did on your own, your contributions that you can be proud of. Consistency results in mastery.
4. Analysis Paralysis (Overthinking)
My thinking cap is always on, to the point where it goes into overdrive. This is where I over analyze, do research from left to right, then I end up not doing anything. When I was starting my personalbranding journey I was procrastinating, saying that I will start tomorrow, I will start creating content the next day – then the day comes and nothing happens! Then years just went by with no results and I made a decision to change that!
Pro Tip: Set deadlines, break your goals into easy actionable steps.
5. Fear to start
The first post is always the hardest. I was so scared to publish my first post on Linkedin. I was scared to see if people would like my post, if they would be able to resonate with it.
Pro Tip: Just start. Start your first article, start your first video. Start your first podcast. Once you start, you build momentum and consistency.
Final Thoughts
Fear is a natural human emotion. We all have it and we have to find ways to conquer it. Before you can start to face your fears, it’s critical to understand yourself, your limits, and your capabilities, so that you can be the best version of you when you set off to overcome your obstacles. And the best way to do that is through personal branding. Personal branding is self-discovery. It’s about stepping out of the comfort zones and pushing what is inside of you. Yes, this platform has pushed me to a growth zone and it can do that for you!
https://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pablo-138.png5121024super-adminhttps://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/logo.pngsuper-admin2022-08-01 15:46:002022-08-01 15:46:005 Types of fears that were holding me back in building my personal brand — Lionesses of Africa
A wonderful person told me once that when you’re driving on a racetrack and you focus too much on the tires at every corner, not hitting them, at the next bend, mind the tires… you eventually end up hitting those tires.
As a business woman and an entrepreneur we get bogged down with our own hectic schedules. Things to do, you know, admin – yuk – products to deliver, people to meet, clients that want happiness and parcels and post that perhaps need to go out, etc. Unfortunately many times we do see some curves in the road or might think about possible curves and we start feeling levels of stress, anxiety, fear and a general feeling of AM I going to be able to do this? A nagging mind nugget steps in.
In nature when we take the little strolls through all the bushes and scenery, everything around you and the road looks okay, albeit for a few stones, rocks and tree roots sticking out. All you’ve got to is heave your bum up and build up a sweat, even with a huff and puff. It’s all part of the adrenaline rush really. Most of the time you enjoy nature when you go for the walk. Sometimes you pass a tree, then around a corner there’s no way to go. You’re stuck!
This has happened to me in a beautiful setting in Cape Town, South Africa. I thought I’m going to take a shortcut because it looked really, really easy and I thought I was clever. I thought I knew how to do this, but as I had my left leg on the one side and my right leg on the other side ………just imagine the picture, I realized there’s nothing to put the right legs on! I was stuck. I was at the dead end!
That being said I had two options, I could either yell and scream for help or I could try to retrace my tracks. Well, may be breaking a branch or two which would send me falling to smithereens OR perhaps making it by myself? In the end I had to yell for help.
What does the story mean?
In my own life I had to make some decisions. Uncertain of my business dealings and new roads that have to be done, I had to really put an end to it. I had to focus my mind onto something else, put all my effort into something else, and really take a deep hard look at what was the new road in front of me. It required new skills. Did I mourn the death of something? Yes I did. Those were the roads I chose to travel on, business wise. Am I okay with the new road now? Yes, absolutely I am 100% committed to this new road. But here is the key: I was fortunate that when I had to scream for help at the dead end, I had somebody there that could help me from behind, who pulled me out of the danger zone, placed my feet back on the ground, and made me turn around to see the right path back to the entrance gate.
Dear Lioness, if you are feeling today that you are hanging over a cliff and you see a dead end and don’t know what to do – remember there will always be somebody that will be able to help you. Please, don’t try to do it all by yourself You don’t need to burn yourself in places that you didn’t even know you had, developing stress, anxiety, fear, depression and all sorts of nonsense that starts sitting in your heart not only in your mind. There’s nothing wrong by saying to a dear friend, or a business partner, or a family member, friend etc, “please I need your help. I am at the dead end.”
You will never know who is the person right behind you who can grab you out of that situation, help with a turnaround, put you back on the same path back to the entrance gate or onto a new path that takes you to new, higher levels of experience.
Never feel that you have failed. Life changed for many businesses. Many people came to end of it all, yet they are now finding new passions in the wonderful world of entrepreneurial nature.
I hope this has helped you today to just think a little bit and realize that you are not alone in this journey. Many of us went through it, will possibly one day also go through it, and will forever go through it. It’s the path of the entrepreneur.
Have wonderful week and don’t focus on the tires but ask for help sooner than when you think you need it. We lost too many of our fellow entrepreneurs due to stress and depression. Remember, you are good enough for any new road ahead.
https://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pablo-139.png5121024super-adminhttps://nileharvest.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/logo.pngsuper-admin2022-08-01 12:31:572022-08-01 12:31:57The dead end – is that so bad? — Lionesses of Africa
I love how people make being a boss lady and a mom look so glamorous, don’t you? They have routines that they stick to religiously. They have children who have tight schedules and nap times that they never miss. Oh and my personal favourite, they take lovely family vacations at the drop of a hat. Not to mention the exercise, healthy eating, plenty of self-care, hair and nails freshly done and on it goes. I mean they own their time right…WRONG!
You see starting a business when you are already a mom is very different from starting a business before having children or being a man. The pregnancy and sleepless nights mean that we have already fried a few braincells and dealing with toddlers mean that those braincells are not coming back. I can imagine you nodding and smiling because you know exactly what I’m talking about. Three main things that pose major challenges come to mind. To be honest they each deserve their own article, but we will just touch on them a little. All three of these lead to some unbelievable mom guilt.
1. Energy
Starting a business requires long hours of dedication and hard work, concentration and odd hours of the morning or night as well as emotional strength as the ups and downs of the business world come thick and fast. There is barely a chance to breathe and somewhere in the middle of all of this we must have the energy to play with the children and help with homework. Making sure that the house is clean, and everyone is fed doesn’t help the situation. How are we supposed to somehow fit in self-care too? Seems a bit much wouldn’t you say?
2. Time
For the above to make sense we need at least 30 hours in a day and 9 days in a week. If by some fluke, we got granted that crazy wish, everyone else would use the time and still get ahead of us. We have so much to juggle, and it pains us to miss school events because we have a meeting with a potential client who is only available at that time. Having to choose between playing outside or packing orders or doing admin. If the business is in the early stages, there is a lot of research and networking to do. This means we end up either missing some important milestones or missing out on business opportunities. No Fair!!!
3. Money
One that that seems like it will help all the above is money. Yes, I said it. We need money. Money can get us some help with the cooking and cleaning and maybe even a tutor for the homework. Money can also get us assistance for parts of our business that don’t necessarily need us but alas, the economy is not at its best. Even worse when you are starting a business, resources get reinvested to grow the business.
Solution:
We try to juggle all these balls and the truth is that some will fall. What we need to remember is that not all the balls are glass. Some balls will bounce, and we can catch them later, but some are glass and if they fall they will break for sure. Ours is to know which balls are glass and protect them first.Take a moment and identify which balls need your energy, time and money first. The rest can take a number while you hold on to some of your sanity and try to build that empire. It is for those precious children after all, right?!
Tshego Dludla is the founder of The Tshala Foundation (NPO), as well as RoboSTEAM Train in South Africa. Both enterprises are making maths and science fun using robotics and coding, one catering specifically for underprivileged children. Tshego has a passion for learning and empowering young ones. Being a mom of three children herself has forced her to face the reality of what it takes to thrive as a mom and entrepreneur and she therefore started a mommy blog addressing mom guilt and how mothers can support each other along this journey in a world filled with judgement on everything moms do. Find out more by visiting the website www.robosteamtrain.co.za
