Get produce from farm to fork in city

“When I was a young boy I actually hated farming but because of being in the area and surrounded by it constantly by default I had to farm and learn about it too. I did a lot of maize and sugarcane farming to supply to the families around us, you know, they need to eat. Although I hated it then, I did it anyway and now I love it,” he said excitedly.

Now that he is older and mature he is able to see the value behind it. “It’s become my passion, it’s like we are inseparable that’s why it’s easy to do,” he said. Right now he is part of the Urban Agriculture Initiative (UAI) with the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership (JICP) where the focus is on hydroponic farming, basically farming in the city.

Having started from an incubation process right through to logistics and a BSc degree in biological science, Ndlangamandla has learnt it all. “I know it all, how to get produce from farm to fork within the city, cost cutting, teaching us to grow veggies within the city and that is where my main focus is, the UAI provides funding to get our own roof top gardens, they will supply us with a tunnel and service your own clients,” he said.

Currently his tunnel is still under construction in Lorentzville in Joburg. He plans to commercialise his product on a large scale and be a local supplier within his community. “I’m actually trying to do more and well and just make a living out of it while bearing nature in mind and being ecofriendly.

We can’t destroy nature, we must protect it,” he said. Being in the city means that nature and beautiful things are often overlooked, Ndlangamandla has come up with an innovative plan to put a stop to illegal dumping and littering. “So what I normally do is that I build a garden within that space and people have actually stopped littering there now and it’s become this beautiful thing to look at and benefit from.

I call them edible street gardens their aim is to plant veggies for the community, so if I plant in front of your yard or use the pavement in front of your house and create this beautiful garden, you need to try maintain it too,” he said. With these gardens he wants to involve the community and teach them how to maintain it and make their own.

Ndlangamandla is the self- proclaimed mayor of Victoria Yards. He often gives tours to visitors of the yards and teaches them about the agriculture sector. “When Victoria Yards was developed I came through to meet with the owners and told them about my interest in farming.

There was a good atmosphere synergy in the new development and I wanted to come up with new ways of practising urban farming within the yards,” he said. In the near future he hopes to at least make R1 billion and dominate the agricultural sector. “But most of all I just hope to educate more people and help them.