Farming fundi for hire

A HEART bypass operation, renal failure, loss of employment and the retrenchment of his wife suddenly hurled an agricultural advisor in a desperate predicament.

But Muzi Myeni (53) says his passion is still alive – to teach rural farmers about agronomy, dairy and poultry farming, animal production and soil conservation.

‘Many small business entrepreneurs and rural farmers fail because of a lack of knowledge and proper planning. I want to help them start off on the right foot.’

Muzi is an agricultural fundi with years of study and field experience under the belt, but serious illness cost him his active career.

He must undergo renal dialysis three times a week for four hours per session, which renders full-time employment out of the question, but he has a wealth of experience to share and says his expertise can be valuable for someone with a positive spirit.

This is no big talk.

While working at Mzingazi Ward 6 for the Department of Agriculture, a local farmer, Mr Dlamini, carefully followed Muzi’s advice and reaped a bumper crop of 1 000kg sweet potatoes per hectare.

‘You cannot buy a person without a driver’s licence a brand new Mercedes. He will damage it or even write it off completely.

‘You must first teach him to drive and drive well before you can entrust him with something so valuable.

‘It is the same with new ventures and capital investment. Without proper business plans, feasibility studies and swot analysis – the money is squandered and the project dies.

‘Many new farmers and business owners run aground before they are out of the blocks.

‘They see someone doing something and decide they also want to do it without proper planning and research. This is a big mistake.’

After matriculating from Mangwazana High School, Muzi obtained his Diploma in Agriculture at the Owen Sithole College of Agriculture and started his career as an extention officer at the Department of Agriculture
‘I started at Mjindi Farming at the Makathini flats, where we had an irrigation scheme. I advised farmers on cotton management.’

Thereafter he joined the Lima Rural Development Foundation, teaching the Amakhosi of the northern region skills such as constructing rural roads by hand and how to manage payment of wages.

‘I worked with the King in areas such as Ingwavuma, Umbombo, Hlabisa, Nongoma, Mahlabathini and Pongola.’

‘I then moved to a south coast Sappi project where I taught the rural community to plant gum trees and establish successful rural community gardens.’

Muzi fell ill in 1999 when he was 37. It started with high blood pressure and eventually he had to have a heart bypass. Then his kidneys failed.

The once active man lost his employment and income.

His disability grant covered only his medical aid and with a wife and five children, the family suffered.

‘We were dependent on my wife’s salary, but after 20 years of service at a bank, she was retrenched.

‘We thereafter had no income left and our youngest is still in high school.

‘I want to provide for my family again and use my knowledge to build capacity and train people. I just need a foothold.

Muzi can be contacted on 063 2353180 and a copy of his curriculum vitae is available.

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