Nkondlo co-op’s maize harvest success in spite of drought
The 630-member farming concern will sell its 1,700 hectare maize and oat crop throughout the country
With many areas within the Eastern Cape still firmly under the grip of a persistent drought, there was a moment around December when Tribal Qungwana worried that their young agricultural co-operative might be forced to scrap the entire 2019/2020 ploughing season.
But all those fears were forgotten on Tuesday, when the 630-member Aah Zwelakhe Primary Agricultural Co-op harvested 1,700 hectares of maize and oats.
Established in rural Nkondlo in the hinterlands of Ngcobo in 2015 by ordinary residents of several villages in the area working together with the AmaQwathi Traditional Council, the co-op only managed to plough its first agricultural crops in 2017.
It could only manage to cultivate a mere 100 hectares which grew to 114 hectares in early 2019.
Qungwana, who serves as the co-op’s chair, told journalists on the sidelines of the Tuesday harvesting session that one of their biggest challenges was that they did not have water to set up an irrigation system.
“We almost scrapped the entire ploughing season because we rely on the heavens for water,” he said.
“However, the rains eventually arrived in mid-January and we were able to plough 1,700 hectares.”
He said they had decided to form the co-op as a way to eradicate poverty in the area as there were no factories to offer employment to locals.
But getting it off the ground had taken three years of robust engagements and meticulous planning.
“People were hungry while ploughing fields lay fallow for decades. We sat down and discussed our options but it was not an easy thing.”
The co-op’s president Yanga Dalasile said they had specialised in cultivating summer and winter grain crops including canola, soya beans, barley, sunflower, maize, wheat, groundnuts, sorghum and oats.
The co-op consists of three entities: the Humansdorp Cooperative which owns a 35% stake, his own company Nciba Group which owns 14% and Aah Zwelakhe made up of rural villagers who have a 51% stake in the business.
Humansdorp Co-op provided R9m of its own funds for ploughing, including providing technical expertise, Nciba supplied grant and interest loan funding, while the villagers provided land and labour.
Dalasile said they had signed 15 offtake agreements with companies who have shown an interest in buying their produce.
Dalasile explained they pegged their products at market rates and “we look at who can give us the highest price”.
Last year, they sold their grain to a Cape Town company and before that to Humansdorp Coop.
“Our maize goes to Cape Town, Kokstad, East London, Humansdorp and even the Free State,” he said.
He described members as a very close-knit family, saying during the 2020/2021 ploughing season, they were aiming to cultivate up to 4,000 hectares of their land.
He said this was because they had secured another offtake agreement to supply an animal feedlot to be established in the Nkondlo area.
In addition, the co-op had also secured an agreement with one of the world’s leading irrigation companies.
East Cape rural development and agrarian reform MEC Nomakhosazana Meth, who joined Tuesdays harvest, showered the co-op with praise, saying it showed how a partnership between government, traditional leaders, ordinary citizens and the private sector could change the face of the eastern side of the province.
She said historically, Nkondlo had been disadvantaged when it came to economic agriculture as commercial farming had not been happening for years.
“If you listen to their story, it is quite unbelievable that in 2017 they were producing on only 100 hectares but now are harvesting crops on 1,700 hectares.
“It is amazing and we are excited with the work they are doing.”
Our maize goes to Cape Town, Kokstad, East London and even the Free State