SA Breweries’ young farmers shine

Njabulo Mbokane, who is just 24, is proof that young farmers can be successful with the right support.

Although the average South African commercial farmer is older than 60, more and more young people are joining the sector and succeeding.

Njabulo Mbokane from Ermelo in Mpumalanga is a case in point. She had always wanted to be a nurse, but life had other plans for her. Unable to pursue her studies due to financial constraints, she ended up tending a small vegetable garden in her parents’ backyard, and soon found she had a passion for agriculture.

Today, she is an award-winning farmer and the proud owner of AW Dalia, a mixed farming operation. She leases 26ha near Ermelo, where she farms sheep and vegetables, and 100ha near Lothair (north-east of Ermelo), where she grows nongenetically modified maize for South African Breweries (SAB).

Realising her farming dream, nevertheless, was not easy.

“I started out with no capital or assets and had to make every step of my journey count to get where I am today,” she says.

Mentorship and support

The great breakthrough in Mbokane’s career came when she was introduced to FarmSol, an agricultural services company with a development focus. One of her mentors, Manqoba Ntuli, a farmer himself under the SAB farmer development programme, invited her to a workshop, where she learnt how to turn her passion for agriculture into a business.

Mbokane thereafter applied for funding and became a participant in the SAB farmer development programme implemented by FarmSol. With no agricultural background, she had to learn fast while being taught the finer details of maize production.

“One of my biggest challenges was my soil; it had a low pH, which reduced yield. Correcting soil quality with FarmSol’s help made a huge difference to my farming achievements,” she says.

Awards and Recognition

Mbokane won the 2019 SABFarmSol Young Emerging Farmer of the Year Award. This accolade was later followed by another honour, when she was appointed FarmSol Youth Ambassador, an initiative to create awareness about opportunities for young people in agriculture.

FarmSol managing director, Aron Kole, has lauded Njabulo’s achievements and describes her as hard-working and resilient.

“She was crowned the SAB/ FarmSol Young Farmer of the Year and our Youth Ambassador because of her desire to learn and grow. She’s an entrepreneur, a committed farmer and goes out of her way to help others,” says Kole.

Mbokane employs 15 people during the peak maize season and five permanent staff for her vegetable and sheep enterprise. Expanding her business and

Supplied ABOVE: Njabulo Mbokane grows nongenetically modified maize on contract for South African Breweries.