Female farmer making a difference

MBOMBELA – For Magaret Ndwandwe of Sigangeni Trading, not even losing the use of her arm stopped her from realising her dream.

Growing up in rural Mpumalanga, Ndwandwe knew that she was destined to be a farmer. By the time she completed her schooling, she already knew what her future held.

“Growing up in a farming environment ignited my passion. I have never wanted to be anything other than a farmer,” she said.

Persistent and strong-willed, she already had owning a farm in her sights before she obtained her first qualification in 2004. And just as it inspired her to become a farmer, her childhood inspired her to work with what she had — a backyard garden — instead of being demotivated that she did not have hectares of land.

She received her B.Tech Diploma in Agriculture through distance learning in 2009.

She said her unbreakable spirit comes from that she simply does not give up. “If I want something then I have to get it. I don’t give up and I don’t like failing,” she said.

This attitude has seen her through moments that would have made other people give up. While raising poultry, she was involved in a car accident that put her in the hospital for over three months.

Her left arm lost all its function ability. “My poultry farm fell apart. It was a very difficult time for me, but all I could think about was going back to farming, even though I had new challenges to face as result of the accident.”

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She decided to start over. True her character, her second beginning is inspirational. She didn’t have land or money to buy a farm. “I went to what was then the department of land affairs to ask for land. Back then, one had to find a farmer who was willing to sell their land and then make a case to the department of land affairs to buy the farm, which they leased to the prospective farmer.”

She registered Sigangeni Trading in 2007, a year before she received the land that would become Rietvley Farm. Her land secured, she now had to face the uphill battle of raising capital to buy livestock.

“I consulted different stakeholders, including banks and other financial organisations. I finally got a R110 000 grant in 2010 with the help of an NGO called Technoserve. It had an incubator programme which came with the opportunity to enter a competition. I used the money to start livestock production and fence part of the farm,” added Ndwandwe.

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Ndwandwe has since seen jobs she created with her business. At the moment, the farm has three full-time employees and five casual workers. They supply produce to Pick ‘n Pay and other supermarkets in Barberton. The farm also supplies cattle to local abattoirs and butcheries.

For more information about Sigangeni Trading (Rietvley Farm), contact Ndwandwe at magaretndwandwe@yahoo.com or call her on 072-430-0395.