Five Eastern Cape women with a passion for agriculture this week began a year-long development programme with one of the world’s largest dairy and plant-based product producers.
Ntsikelelo Vokwana, Sinokuphila Khekhezwa, Nandipha Damse, Thantaswa Ndlazulwana and Athenkosi Mbambalala from the rural parts of the province, were handpicked to take part in the Future Farmers Development Programme run by Danone Southern Africa, in association with Ncora dairy farm in the Eastern Cape, which supplies the famous brand with 10% of its milk account.
Vokwana, who rears calves at Seven Stars Dairy Trust, will be equipped with critical farming and manufacturing skills so that she can take advantage of growth opportunities available in the sector, especially in global companies’ different methods, including processing, supplier management, marketing and leadership, which are critical to sustainable farming and community development.
Vokwana , who joined Seven Stars in 2014 as a milker after obtaining a certificate in human resource management at the University of Fort Hare, also worked as a salesperson at the farm for three years before joining the calves division.
“I grew up in a family with cows and livestock but my love for farming grew when I joined Seven Stars as a milker,” she said at the end of the five-day workshop held in Bryanston, northern Joburg on Friday.
The 38-year-old Vokwana from Keiskammahoek, who also rears her own bulls, hopes the training and the networks she will build will help fast-track her plan to run her own farm.
Khekhezwa from Peddie, who dropped out of her studies for BSc in veterinary sciences at the University of Pretoria in 2010, enrolled for a diploma in agriculture, specialising in animal production at the Tshwane University of Technology in the same year.
“Coming from a rural area and not being able to speak good English, I felt out of place as a black student in veterinary sciences at UP,” she said.
Khekhezwa, who works as farm manager at Ncora Dairy farm, has 10 years of farming experience. She said she will pursue her dream of being a livestock veterinarian.
“I am enrolled with the University of South Africa for a diploma in animal health. I want to have my animal health practice,” said the 30-year-old
Khekhezwa, adding that when she graduates she will be a qualified animal health technician.
“Currently, on a farm level I’m able to diagnose and treat sick animals. At the community level, I participate in programmes on how to control diseases,” she said.
In 2020 Khekhezwa built a chicken structure in order to produce broiler chickens.
“With Covid-19, my business failed even before it started,” she said. “I’m currently producing eggs. I have 200 hens.
“I’m selling eggs locally. In terms of cash flow it is not making any profit. I need at least 500 chickens for me to be able to start seeing where I’m going.
“Fortunately, my structure can take up to 3 000 chickens,” she said, adding that she hopes the programme will widen her network of opportunities in agriculture and help her to comply with all the standards she needs to supply eggs to supermarkets.
Kid Nkantsu, Danone’s operations director for Sub-Saharan Africa, said the company wants to send the young farmers to different countries to learn best practices in agricultural.
“We source 70% of milk in the Midlands. The next step is have them spend time there,” he said, “We also want them learn best practices from New Zealand, North America and Europe,” he said.
The Ncora diary farm is facing a number of challenges, but Nkantsu said his company is committed to helping the farm and the community that benefits from its success.
“We have problems of water supply reticulation and loadshedding. The road infrastructure is in a bad state,” he said.
“We are putting together a project to assist Ncora with some of the challenges,” he said, adding that when it comes to the management of infrastructure, the private sector must help the government to think differently.
Chemical engineer and the first female to head manufacturing at Danone Southern Africa, Tsholofelo Ngobeni, said the programme will empower the women with the necessary skills to be leaders.
“As we develop more farmers, we build a self-sustaining nation,” she said.
For more business news from Sunday World, click here.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
