The Gagelas' unique livestock operation

In 2009, the Gagela family expanded their livestock initiative from the communal areas of the Eastern Cape to include a commercial farm near Dordrecht. Mike Burgess reports on the family's unique agricultural journey, driven by the late George Gagela.

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“He loved farming a lot,” says Luyanda Gagela (42) about his late father, George. “He always had tractors, cattle and sheep.”

George started farming part-time in the communal areas of the Lupapasi region of the Eastern Cape’s former Transkei while still a policeman.

By the 2000s he had retired from law enforcement and was able to focus on his communal farming enterprise consisting of a flock of 50 sheep and about 20 crossbred beef cattle. Not to be outdone, his wife Nomsa, then still a full-time teacher, tended to chickens, lambs and pigs around the homestead.

However, farming in the communal areas was challenging, with limited grazing resources shared by a multitude of farmers.

“Although my parents were doing well, they were still struggling,” recalls Luyanda. “You cannot mind your business in the communal areas; there are a lot of disturbances.”

So the elderly Gagela couple, both born in the early 1940s, began looking to source a commercial farm through the state’s Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development land reform programme. Eventually, in 2009, they were awarded the 280ha Rockberry farm, 6km outside of the town of Dordrecht.

GEORGE GOES TO ROCKBERRY

George immediately transferred a significant portion of the family livestock from the communal areas of Lupapasi to Rockberry and established some more lucerne on the property.

Most of the time he remained on Rockberry during the week and returned to Lupapasi over the weekends, where he still ran some livestock.