WHITE BEANS GIVE RISE TO ABUNDANT HARVEST
The value of learning about farming from a young age is inestimable, but unfortunately the policies of the past separated many potential farmers from the generational knowledge that should have been their birthright. Seitshiro Marumoloe was raised by his grandparents, who were small-scale farmers, and exposed to agriculture from his early childhood. He talks to Peter Mashala about his journey back to farming.
Seitshiro Marumoloe was raised by his astute and entrepreneurial grandparents who laid a solid foundation for him to become the successful businessman and farmer he is today. His grandfather and mentor Hendrik Segatle farmed maize and sunflowers on communal land at Springbokpan village, close to Mahikeng in the North West province. His grandmother Seatile ran the village’s only grocery store.
Today Seitshiro is a commercial farmer and the proud producer of white maize, small white canning beans and sunflowers, which he grows on his farm near Sannieshof and on communal land in Springbokpan. “I used my grandfather’s old tractor, which I still have, when I started farming,” he smiles.
BEANS SAVE THE DAY
He grows yellow maize (hybrid PAN 5R-582R), small white canning beans (PAN 123) and sunflowers (PAN 7100) in rotation on 400ha. This season he has planted 300ha to beans, and the remaining 100ha to maize. The beans are a relatively new venture that he started planting commercially in the 2018-2019 season. He says bean production saved his business at a time when things were really tough after three years of drought.
“My close friend Vuyani Lolwane, who has since passed away, introduced me to Kallie Schoeman of Schoeman Boerdery in Delmas, Mpumalanga. Kallie was Vuyani’s buyer at the time and he became my buyer,” Seitshiro explains. He says producing beans is lucrative, provided one has the right equipment, the expertise and, most importantly, the market.
He sells his beans on contract to Schoeman Boerdery, where they are cleaned, sorted and graded before they go to Tiger Brands for canning. Schoeman Boerdery processes the lower grade beans for animal feed.