It’s an undeniable fact that farmers play a critical role in the economy. A thriving agricultural sector is one of the factors that influence political, social and economic stability. The number of emerging young commercial farmers gives hope of a great future. I had the pleasure of engaging with a young brother and sister duo about their journey in the farming space.
Out in rural KZN in Impendle Municipality is Enguga village. This is where the siblings, Noluthando Maphalala and Amahle Ntuli found a home for Labalo Farming. Established in 2020 the farm is set to contribute immensely to the community in various ways. The Q&A below just goes to show what can be achieved when you follow your passion and put in the work required to succeed
Why did you go into farming and how long have you been doing it?
Thando: The spark was ignited when my mother and I were talking about how my late grandfather ventured into farming after he had retired, and how unfortunate it was that he passed before he could fully reap the rewards of his efforts. I started to do more research about farming and I realised there aren’t a lot of black people that are part of the secondary/tertiary food chain. I saw the economic and social impact it has, whether it’s providing some individuals with employment or helping out a family with some of the produce you have. I knew I wanted to be a part of that. Being a contributor to food security is one of the highest honour for me. I once came across a quote by Ike Skelton where he said “because of their connection to the land, farmers do more to protect and preserve our environment than almost anyone else. They are some of the best environmentalists around.” Although that statement is a bit flawed, having studied geography and environmental management back in university, I just had to make the connection there (laughs).
Amahle: For me to enter or go into farming was all because of my sister, Thando. She made me fall in love with this career, I never understood nor cared about it, but the way she would go on about how we need to buy a farm once we start making money made me think more and more about it. Whilst doing my research I found a lot of interesting things. The journey has just started , it’s been almost 6 months since we occupied our farm which is about 100 hectors.
How did you manage to start an operation of this size?
It was challenging and it still is quite a challenge. We were able to obtain the land to work from iNkosi E. S. Zuma of the Nxamalala tribe in iMpendle. We also got assistance from other individuals in the neighbouring areas with their tractors. The hard work we put in and determination to succeed played a part in ensuring that we succeeded.
How has it been operating in the agricultural space as young farmers? Challenges, opportunities….?
Operating in the agricultural space as 2 young farmers has been extremely challenging especially because we are financing ourselves, I don’t think we realised just how expensive the input costs for farming, even costs we didn’t anticipate. To be honest, I think that is the problem most young people are faced with. As a result it gives the impression that farming is an industry that is hard to enter. We also do not have our own equipment, so when it was time to land prep our timeline got delayed because we were working on other people’s time. We had to respect that because they were helping us. It was a long game that required loads of patience. There are so many opportunities and other farmers who are willing to assist you throughout from offering some of their services, consultations, giving you links to certain markets, as well as posting a lot of helpful information on their social media pages, for instance Ayanda Zulu, Chuma Rusi, Andile Ngcobo, and many. I must say, we are sold dreams [beautiful dreams] which encourage us to keep pushing and that the dream can and will be realised.
Is there sufficient infrastructure (roads, water supply, electricity, mobile networks) in the area to support effective business operations?
Impendle municipality, the community of enguga & the nxamalala traditional council have done a wonderful job by providing sufficient infrastructure. The area has roads, electricity (aside from the occasional load shedding), and water which has made life much easier for us and has helped support effective operations on our farm. The mobile network on the other hand is a bit tricky, certain networks have poor coverage area but that isn’t a major problem.
What do you grow and how much acreage do you farm?
As this will be our very first harvest, we have started with sugar beans which cover about 15ha of land, it is the “safest” crop to begin with, mainly because it doesn’t require a lot of water, which works a lot better for us since we do not have the finances to get our own irrigation system “[not even the cheapest one]” and iMpendle area gets enough rainfall.
Do you also rear livestock?
At the moment no we don’t have any livestock but that does mean were not going to venture into to livestock in the future. We’re taking 1 step at a time as we are still trying to master crops and vegetables. There is just a lot to consider when doing livestock, but we’d love to venture into piggery as well as cattle.
Are there any organisation in the area that offer support programs for farmers?
As far as our knowledge goes, we are not aware of any. Which is exactly why we will soon be starting our next biggest project of which we currently can’t talk about though will update you guys on that.
What partnerships are you looking to build in order to grow the business and strengthen your supply chain?
We’d love to supply our produce not only to supermarkets but to create relationships in other spaces that aren’t looked at like hospitals or even prisons. We would also love to work with this amazing platform based in PMB called Agricool. What Zamokuhle and the team are doing for the farming business is amazing.
Who is your target market?
The goal to supply our produce to the commercial sector, whether it’s to supermarkets, to secure more deals with more middle men to take our produce and they be the ones that take it to the market. But we certainly are not overlooking the informal sector, we’ve seen how the informal sector truly supports farmers.
What is the key to succeeding in farming?
The willingness to learn, we spent 2 years trying to acquire land, learning about the technical/ practical side of farming and the business itself before we actually started our operations. I’d also say to build relationships with other farmers, you can never know it all or ever know enough. There’s always something to learn from one person to the next, if you don’t know ask or you’re having a hard time. There are always farmers willing to give out advice, or avail themselves for a consultation or even mentor you in the industry. And also read, there’s so much information out there, whether its articles , magazines, books and we’re live in great times where there’s Google to find out anything you want know( not that you should use Google alone) but the point is to expand your horizon. As people would say “be a student to the game”.
What are your plans for the future?
Other than mastering our crops, we plan to use more than the land we’re currently working with. We want to eventually be part of the secondary and tertiary food chain.
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