Former nurse feeding the nation with fresh produce from the soil in Bushbuckridge
He branched out to pursue another career, but it was not long until returned to farming.
A local farmer has worked his way up to make his dream a reality.
Bennedicter Mhlongo (35) has employed 12 permanent farmers and two part-time workers at his farm, but achieving this
was not easy.
Mhlongo started farming with his grandmother as a child. “I grew up with her after I had lost both my parents. She loved growing vegetables. I helped her with ploughing and planting. That was when my love of farming started.”
Read: Young farmer hopes to show the youth the benefits of being involved in the sector
He branched out to pursue another career, but it was not long until returned to farming. “I went on to be a professional nurse and worked for the Department of Health for seven years. I resigned to follow my passion, which is farming,” he said.
However, Mhlongo experienced obstacles along the way. “I had a lack of resources and not enough land, fencing or a proper irrigation system.”
Nevertheless, he persisted. “I established my own farm and called it Benica and started growing produce.”
Mhlongo’s produce was so impressive that grocery stores asked him to supply them. “I started supplying to SUPERSPAR, SPAR and Le Bamba. I also have my own fruit markets in three different villages.
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“It was risky for me to leave me job, but I truly love farming and was eager to make it work. I am happy that I got back into it. Growing vegetables is part of my everyday life and the first thing on my mind when I wake up is my customers,” he said.
Mhlongo has had to sacrifice sleep in order to run the farm. “My day starts at 02:00 to source the vegetables that I don’t have on my farm. When I come back, I do deliveries to the shops, then check on my markets and check my farm later in the evening. After that, I take my workers home,” he said.
Mhlongo’s dream is to become a well-known producer and supplier of fruit and vegetables in Mpumalanga. “I want to run a big fresh produce market and employ more than 100 young people. My dream is to also open an orphanage, which will offer crop production training to disadvantaged families, because I grew up without parents and I know what it feels like to go to bed on an empty stomach at times,” he concluded.
