Maphumulo teacher leaves the classroom for the kraal

When Bongani Khuzwayo inherited his father’s stock farming business in 2003, the teacher had no interest in dealing with cows and started to sell them, not knowing that this was the beginning of a successful business.

“People kept coming back for more cows and some even wanted to buy my own private cows. I saw a business opportunity in livestock trading and today there is nothing I enjoy more than stock farming,” said Khuzwayo, who is from the Esnamfini area in Maphumulo.

Today, he has about 160 breeding cows and he has customers as far as Umlazi and Makhutha.

Depending on the demand, Khuzwayo usually buys cows about 20 times a year, reselling them from as little as R4000 to as much as R12 000 a cow.

“Keeping livestock is very time consuming and demanding because you need to keep a close eye on them and ensure that they are always in good health. Ticks are one of the biggest problems for us. Besides that, cows are like humans. They fight, get injured and need to be treated. One day they are fine, the next they are sick,” said Khuzwayo in his deep voice.

“Other dangers cows face are snake bites and poison. People often put poison on their plants and if the cows eat these plants, they too are poisoned.”

Besides cows, he also sells goats and currently has about 90, which he sells from about R1000 to R1300.

“The biggest problem with the goats is that they get stolen or killed by stray dogs. So far about nine of my goats have been killed by dogs. To protect them, you must ensure they sleep in the kraal.”

The father of five children is trying to help his community and has brought some of his neighbours into his business.

“I have allowed them to keep their cows with mine and I pass my knowledge on to them on how to take care of the cows. By doing that they also get to sell their cows and get an income,” said Khuzwayo.

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