Seeds of success sprout for Loluthando Qelo
Loluthando Qelo’s love for growing vegetables started when she was very young and, with the encouragement of her family, today she is a full-time farmer.
“I was born in Mdantsane,” she said. “We had a small house and a tiny garden.
“My father worked in Johannesburg and we would see him only occasionally.
“He saw my interest in growing vegetables and would regularly send me seeds in packets. He was a great inspiration.
“When he was home he would show me how to plant and assist me in tilling the land and readying it for planting.
“I planted a big variety, with the result that I grew a lot of our own food. What started out as fun resulted in me helping to feed the family.”
Today, 25 years later, Qelo owns two farms, one in Bhisho and the other in Gqamkwe, near Komani.
“The farms are relatively small, with a total area of 2.5ha,” she said. “This means every square metre is devoted to planting.
“It is very compact and no area is left without plants.
“I think people would be surprised with just how much you can get out of a relatively small area.
“I have a full-time staff of five, but in the harvest periods it goes up to 10.”
She said potatoes gave her the best harvest if she planted twice a year.
“I try to attend as many courses as possible. It was through a course that I met one of the biggest potato seed growers in SA and he guided me.
“I don’t like to leave the land fallow, so I plant maize after we have harvested the potatoes.
“Maize is an excellent cash crop that I sell directly to consumers.”
Farming, she said, was not an easy life, but it was satisfying.
“My challenges don’t lie on the land, but in the office.
“As with many small businesses, funding is an ongoing concern, because growing the business depends on it.
“Marketing is also a challenge, but I am getting my head around it. Small, specific courses are my biggest aid.”
It was through a marketing course that Qelo got her biggest break. She applied to take part in the Boxer Agri-project.
“Boxer selected several of the applicants to take part in it to not only upskill themselves through education, but to get their produce onto Boxer shelves.
“The aspiring professional farmer learnt the essentials of farming-related finance, business, retail and gaining access to the market.”
The project also covered the tools and knowledge needed to supply retail supermarkets with their produce, and Boxer gave her the gap to sell.
“Once I started supplying SPAR, which insisted on highquality produce, my business took off.
“I had a ready market and, equally important, a steady cash flow.
“My next goal is acquiring more land for a greenhouse, which will extend my growing season.
“I will then be able to grow a much greater variety of vegetables. “Once I have got that running smoothly, I want to go into livestock and chickens. Small steps, but I want them to follow quickly.”
She said there were export opportunities for beneficiated farm produce, adding value and longevity to the crops.
“I attended the Border-kei Chamber of Business ‘women only’ marketing course a while ago.
“Aside from practical ways of export-readying my current and future produce and getting it into international markets, the greatest return was spending time with professional women who were as passionate about their businesses as I am.”