Limpopo farmer gives indigenous okra a boost

Part-time farmer Tsakani Mhlongo is the founder and owner of SwaTsakani Farming in Tzaneen, Limpopo, which produces vegetables such as okra, tomatoes and spinach, as well as broilers. She is determined, however, to turn her part-time operation into a full-time career.

- Siyanda Sishuba

Tsakani Mhlongo, owner of SwaTsakani Farming in Tzaneen, Limpopo, began farming vegetables part-time in 2018. She juggles farming with the demands of her job in the mining industry, where she is currently involved in project coordination. She started working for a mining company in 2009 in corporate communications after completing a degree in this field at the University of Johannesburg.

Mhlongo says that her background in communications equipped her with the experience necessary to develop her own branding and marketing for her farming operation. The farm is funded through her full-time job and Mhlongo spends all her free time working on the farm.

She says she always thought of going back to farming later in life as she learnt a great deal from her parents, Emmanuel and Rosalia Mhlongo, and from spending time on their farm during school holidays. As her parents started ageing, their need for someone to step in and take over became greater, which spurred Mhlongo to get involved.

“My father’s death earlier this year made me realise that I’d made this decision at the right time. At least he got to see me continuing his legacy,” she says.

Her parents farmed poultry and vegetables, and ran a few cattle and sheep, and Mhlongo has carried on with this mixed-farming approach. While she now travels between Johannesburg, where she works, and Tzaneen every week, her dream is to be able to live on the farm permanently to realise its full potential.

“My parents also farmed part-time; they lived in Giyani, not on the farm. Because of this they weren’t able to accomplish everything they wanted to achieve with the farm; my goal is to realise their dream.