Perseverance, patience, hardwork and a desire to become a thriving commercial farmer were some of the main ingredients behind the success of Njabulo Mbokane – one of Ermelo’s (in Mpumalanga) inspirational and emerging female farmers.
Intrepid hustler
Not only is she a farmer but she is also a hustler and a highly respected entrepreneur who enjoys exploring new business opportunities. Although Mbokane comes from a poor family background and their situation was so dire they couldn’t afford to fund her tertiary education. But she never used this situation to hold her back. She first started to eke out a living by selling russians, fish and chips during lunchtime and after school hours. It was an occupation that enabled her to not only get by but it also generated some small money for her to raise her son.
Thriving food garden
But while doing this, she also helped at a local Lindile Secondary School where she carried out odd jobs on voluntary basis. She noticed that there was a neglected food garden and then decided to take the responsibility of turning it around into a flourishing food garden cultivating lettuce, spinach, carrots, cauliflower and beetroot. Working at the school food garden gave Mbokane an opportunity to hone her farming skills and experience. To further deepen her rudimentary farming knowledge, in 2016 Mbokane went for a learnership at FarmSol and the Peritum Agri Institute.
Creating employment
At the moment Mbokane owns a crop and livestock farming business called Aw Dalia (Pty) Ltd which focuses on crop and livestock farming businesses. She employs 16 fulltime staff and also boasts South African Breweries (SAB) as her biggest client, which she supplies with yellow maize. She initially leased 2 hectares to grow soya beans but this failed to take off probably due to inexperience. Mbokane then enlisted the assistance of an established local commercial farmer who gladly took her under his wings and provided machinery and other farming inputs.
Scooping an award
Encouraged by the new alliance, Mbokane decided to add another 15 hectares and this time around all went well. She felt buoyed and doubled down by taking another risk, leasing another200-hectare farm which was bigger and closer to where she lives. From this on, Mbokane never looked back as her farming businesses continued to thrive and earned her the 2019 Young Emerging Farmer of the Year hosted by both the SAB and FarmSol Awards ceremony. She was also exposed to new and innovative ways of farming such as ensuring her crops including the yellow maize she is currently providing to the SAB are not genetically modified. In addition, she learned adopting sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming practices.
Future plans
Regarding her future plans, Mbokane says she is looking forward to expanding and growing her vegetables and livestock venture. She is also upbeat that she is on course to becoming a successful commercial farmer and would use her business to create jobs for all particularly the local young black women. The success of her business will surely motivate young people who aspire to become farmers.
