Broiler Producer Uses Her Position To Uplift Others

Jo-andra Cloete, who farms in Joostenberg Vlakte near Cape Town, started producing broilers only a few years ago. She is now mentoring over a hundred farmers, whom she supplies with day-old chicks. She spoke to Glenneis Kriel about the growth of her highly successful operation.

- Glenneis Kriel

In 2016, while on maternity leave with her second son, Jo-andra Cloete decided to start farming broilers to boost her income. “I have no patience, so I knew that vegetables, sheep and cattle would never work for me. Broilers, on the other hand, have a quick turnaround time, which is especially helpful when you’re cash-strapped,” she says.

Moreover, nobody was farming chickens in the community of Mfuleni, near Blackheath in Cape Town, where she launched her venture.

Having no farming experience, Cloete conducted her own research to learn more about broiler production, and also found an animal feed nutritionist who assisted her in formulating her own broiler feed. In fact, the nutritionist became one of the main contributors to Cloete’s success; he not only supplied valuable production support and advice, but linked her up with experienced broiler farmers when she experienced problems that fell outside his field of expertise. Cloete started out raising 300 broiler chicks, which she sold to traders and consumers in Mfuleni when they were six weeks old and weighed between 2,5kg and 3kg.

“Broilers are generally sold to retailers by the time they are four weeks old, but the live market wants a bigger bird. This results in higher feeding costs and production risks, but the price more than makes up for this,” says Cloete.

Her business, which she has since named Our Poultry Place Farm, started off so well that she decided not to return to her permanent job. “I was making good money, and having my own business gave me the flexibility to better balance my work and family life.”

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