BATMAN IS FLYING HIGH
As a boy, Lungelo “Batman” Mathenjwa herded cattle among the thorn trees of Hluhluwe in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
Today he’s an astute agricultural consultant who forays into agribusiness development, livestock improvement programmes and farm management, and sources tractors and livestock for his clients. He also manages social corporate investment funds for private companies.
While it’s not easy to find apprenticeship positions for matriculants, Future Farmers did manage to place Batman on a large beef operation near Vryheid. He went on to work as a station hand on a vast 700 000ha cattle farm in Australia.
“After three months as a junior worker, I was promoted,” he says. “That’s when I started learning about the marketing side of agriculture and beef, of buying and selling agricultural commodities. I also learnt about efficiencies on the farm and planning for drought. I had a good time.”
Batman came back very experienced and went on to manage cattle farms in the Swartberg area. He left after three years in 2019, at the age of 27.
“I was concerned that I had reached an earnings ceiling as a farm manager,” he says. “I was still young and had gone straight into farming from school. I decided to do my own thing as an agricultural consultant, to raise money and be available for opportunities.”
It is Batman’s ambition to secure a farm of his own. “If I can’t buy land, I’d be very happy to lease for 10 to 15 years. That would enable me to source funding. My long-term goal is to own a big cattle, maize and sheep farm.
He says he has political aspirations too. “My dream is to influence agricultural decisionmaking on a national scale.”
Batman, who is nicknamed after the Batman-themed duvet set his mother bought him for boarding at Vryheid Landbou High School, is currently studying business administration at Mancosa.
“Without a qualification, I never would have been able to hold the positions that I have,” he says. “I had to put in the work but Future Farmers really opened doors for me and a lot of other kids without qualifications. I would like to thank Judy and the whole Future Farmers team for investing time and energy into crafting my career and future. They played a big role in opening opportunities and allowing me room to grow.”