After his retrenchment, he never allowed his dream of having his own farm to go unfulfilled.

He acquired a piece of land on which he started producing chillies, cabbages, butternuts and tomatoes.

The 10ha farm started operating in 2015.

Their property trades as Rock Hill Farm located just a few kilometers east of Tzaneen near Nkowankowa at Letaba Estate along the Letaba River.

Farms in this area are predominately under commercial citrus production.

On the other side of the river is a community of small-scale subsistence producers where Sipho and his brother Andrew are working the land.

Andrew only joined his brother in 2020 after he was also retrenched due to the negative impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

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Together they are now producing a variety of crops which they sell to support themselves.

The two brothers believe in satisfying the immediate need of the local people, they don’t take their produce outside of the district.

They sell their produce to hawkers and traders who have contracts with feeding schemes.

They also supply Spar and OK Sugar Stores in Tzaneen.

In addition, they supply mangoes and chillies to an atchar processing factory near Tzaneen.

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“We are trying to ensure food security within our immediate environment and by doing so, we are also contributing towards job creation and stability in our area,” explained Sipho.

Currently, Rock Hill Farm has created two permanent jobs and six temporary jobs during picking. The two brothers have not yet realised their aspirations of becoming fully-fledged producers.

They say they are looking to have farming equipment, especially for land preparation purposes.

They are also looking to acquire an adequate water storage and irrigation system, all things that are still holding them back.