Veggie farmer proves success is possible on communal land

Thulani Magida is the poster child for communal farming in South Africa, demonstrating that commercial success is possible. But his journey also highlights the challenges this segment faces, providing valuable lessons to those questioning the slow pace of transformation.

- Lindi Botha reports.

Vegetable farmer Thulani Magida is stuck in a seemingly perpetual waltz danced by all communal farmers: one step forward, two steps back.

He started farming in 2022 in Qonce, Eastern Cape, on communal land that forms part of the Keiskammahoek Irrigation Scheme. Having worked as an agricultural economist and business analyst for 14 years, he used the pension fund he had built up over this time to get started.

As he needed to purchase a tractor, boom sprayer, and fertiliser spreader, there was little left for inputs, so he skimped on fertiliser and pest control. As a result, his yields were low and packout rates discouraging. But through perseverance and investigating all available resources, success is on the horizon.

IMPROVING YIELDS

When Magida started his farming business, Juta Agritech, three years ago, he could only plant 1,25ha of the 45ha he had been allotted due to a lack of finance for inputs. Bit by bit, he increased the farmed land to reach 28ha last year. This year, he'll plant 38ha, increasing the area under all four of his chosen crops: butternut, potatoes, cabbages, and pumpkins. However, growth without financing has been challenging.

“When you are ploughing all your income back into the farm to expand production, there is nothing left to live off or buy new machinery,” laments Magida. After the initial cash injection from his pension fund, he wasn't able to secure financing for the next two years, since he had no land to put up as collateral.

As he is a relatively new farmer, banks wouldn't take a chance on him either, and applications for government funding went unanswered.