Following their dream
WITH a strong agricultural background, a KwaDukuza couple has turned their passion into a lucrative business.
Mboneni and Hlengiwe Ngqotheni own two farms that produce up to 10 000 tons of sugar cane and employ 30 permanent workers from the area.
Banking on Mboneni’s agricultural qualification and Hlengiwe’s childhood experience in her parent’s large vegetable garden, the Ngqothenis took a bold decision to invest all they had into buying their first sugar cane farm from Tongaat Hulett.
‘We had to put down a deposit for the farm, so I resigned from my job and my wife also left her job as an advisor at a financial institution and we cashed in our pension funds to raise the money,’ Mboneni said
‘With the deposit in hand we applied for, and received, funding from Ithala to buy a 137ha farm in 2001.
‘Things went well, so we applied for more funding to buy a neighbouring farm.
‘In total we now have 190ha under cane and are able to produce between 8 000 to 10 000 tons of cane per year.’
Challenges
Operating two farms was not without its challenges for the couple and the recent devastating drought, which impacted on their harvest, was among their big challenges.
‘The drought meant that we could not reach the target we had set for ourselves to meet break-even point. ‘Things were difficult, but fortunately Ithala extended the deadline on our loan repayments,’ said Hlengiwe.
The severity of the drought made them realise that they had to diversify their crop production.
The couple learnt many lessons during the drought and have started growing vegetables to supplement the cane.
To cut costs, the Ngqothenis and other farmers in the area took over the sugar cane haulage process from a supplier.
Relationships
‘Running a farm successfully requires you to have a good relationship with the people in your community.
‘You have to be on the same page with your partners and must be disciplined enough to invest your earnings back into the farm,’ said Mboneni.
He was one of the finalists at the Ithala Business Achiever Awards.
The awards were introduced to recognize and reward existing Ithala clients for their role in developing an entrepreneurial province.
‘In selecting the finalists for the awards, we nominated key clients who epitomise a spirit of entrepreneurship, have a good track record of financial performance, have made an impact in their community and demonstrated innovation and personal integrity,’ said Ithala acting Group Chief Executive, Thembe Mathe.