Within a year after Lebo Mosime of Thabake Business Enterprise decided to expand the small-scale vegetable farming she operated in her backyard on 2,000 m² and reached out to AfriForum to get involved, this vegetable project produced its first harvest.
The first cauliflower and broccoli were delivered to the market. Cabbage will be harvested at a later stage.
The rotation of crops is currently applied and it is planned to plant green beans, sweet peppers, chillies, marrow pumpkin and butternut squash during the next planting cycle.
Mosime reached out to AfriForum last year. Although she successfully delivered products to the market at that stage, the scale was too small to be economically viable.
AfriForum and the agricultural organization Saai assisted Thabake Business Enterprise to put 0.75 ha of the holding of 21 ha in the Phokeng area – which Thabake rents from Royal Bafokeng Enterprise – under solar-powered drip irrigation.
“I have knowledge of vegetable farming, but I want to learn and grow – I also want to transfer knowledge to other people who want to farm and contribute to economic growth and job creation,” says Mosime, founder and CEO of Thabake Business Enterprise, now.
“My vision is to become a successful commercial farmer and deliver sought-after, high-quality products. I want to build and grow Thabake Business Enterprise so that my children and the generations after them can inherit it – I want to build a lasting legacy. I thank God for this partnership.”
Leon Lourens, development coordinator of Saai, says that this organization is assisting Thabake Business Enterprise at this stage to improve their existing capacity around planning and management of the farming.
“We also work together with local players with the necessary technical expertise around choice of varieties, fertilization, pest and weed control and to improve the soil quality. Lebo understands how to farm. We are happy to assist her in developing her farming into an economically viable agricultural enterprise.”
Nantes Kelder, national project coordinator of intercultural relations and cooperation at AfriForum, says independent communities, food security, good relations and cooperation between cultural communities are essential to ensure peaceful coexistence here at the southern tip of Africa.
“It is a privilege for AfriForum to be involved in a partnership where they work hard with so much dedication to make an impact at the grassroots level.”
