Pooling resources leads to progress

Inga Qeja is the owner of Bhayi Holdings, a business that grows vegetables near Tsolo in the Eastern Cape, and hopes to expand to include other crops and livestock. He spoke to Siyanda Sishuba about how a lack of access to finance is a major factor thwarting the growth of emerging farmers.

- Siyanda Sishuba

Inga Qeja registered Bhayi Holdings as a business in 2015, but only started his fulltime career as a farmer five years later. This was after he lost his employment at a car dealership in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, due to challenges brought about by the COVID-19 lockdown.

He says his experience as a salesperson helped him to create partnerships and networks, and these in turn enabled him to grow his business. He adds, however, that access to finance remains a challenge for him and other farmers in a similar position.

Qeja started farming in 2020 on 1,5ha of communal land in Mbokotwana, near Tsolo in the Eastern Cape that had been granted to his mother, but was not used by her. He has since expanded his operation to 2ha. He is potentially able to lease up to 100ha of arable land from the community.

PARTNERSHIPS

Qeja has been able to create much-needed employment in the local community: he has three permanent staff and 10 young people on a temporary basis when planting and harvesting.

He says he is passionate about youth development, and this has prompted him to become involved in Ujamaa Youth Development, an initiative focusing on teaching the youth, mainly high school learners, about development issues.

He is also chairperson of a youth development initiative in Tsolo, and the youngest board member of the Mhlontlo Farmers’ Association.

Bhayi Holdings’ management team currently consists of Qeja as director, Linda Tswane as managing director, and Anele Flatela as operations manager. Tswane, who is also Qeja’s fiancée, has worked with Qeja since the inception of the business.