Sow and ye shall reap
Although women make up the majority of smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, far fewer of them are landholders. Women produce 70% of Africa’s food. Sandile Ndlovu spoke to some of the trailblazers in KZN who are willing to get their hands dirty
APHIWE MTSHALI, 31
When Aphiwe Mtshali returned home to Greytown after dropping out of a marketing degree, she met an old man who taught her farming in return for selling his cabbages.
Step by step she built up her business. Her father bought a farm when he retired. She received a grant and used the money to plant tomatoes, green peppers and cabbages. Today she employs one permanent worker and seven temporary staff during the harvest season, and literally ploughs all of her profits back into the soil.
She says farming is not about money, it’s about love and perseverance. “You must use the little cents you have and even social grant money to start it.”