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November 2018
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GRAIN SA
Day of Celebration
Other finalists in this category were Mr Amos Mfaniseni
Kubheka from Mpumalanga and Mr Siyavuya Njeya from the
Eastern Cape.
There were only two farmers who qualified as finalists in the cat-
egory,
2018 Grain SA/Syngenta Smallholder Farmer of the Year
:
Mr Mduduzi David Mnisi from Mpumalanga and Mr Nhlanhla Sicelo
Mngadi from KwaZulu-Natal. Mngadi (48), who joined Grain SA
in 2015 after seeing the success his neighbour was achieving as
a result of Grain SA’s mentorship programme, was announced as
the winner.
This is the second year that the
Grain SA/Bayer Potential Commer-
cial Farmer of the Year
award was presented. This category is for
farmers with access to more than 100 ha of arable land, who are
currently not able to use all of the available land, but can develop
into New Era Commercial farmers. The 2018 winner of this catego-
ry, Mr Paulus Mosia (50), hails from the Free State and joined the
Grain SA Farmer Development Programme in 2008. He is also an
active member of the Edenville Study Group. Brothers Anton and
President Mabaso who farm together in the Bothaville district, were
the other finalists in this category.
Mr Jeremia Makhosini Mathebula (40) from Mpumalanga is the
2018
Grain SA/Absa/John Deere Financial New Era Commercial
Farmer of the Year.
His farming career began in 2009 when he
started planting maize on only 40 ha of arable land on which he
achieved about 4 t/ha. Over the past four years his maize yield has
increased by 75%. He currently plants a total of 450 ha of maize and
100 ha of soybeans and manages over 400 breeding cows. His prize
included a brand new tractor. The other finalists in this category,
who each received a cheque for R25 000 and a watch from the
sponsors, are Mr Thamsanqa Sampie Booizene from the
North West Province and Mr Daniel Maqala from the Free State.
The forces who made it possible
A big thank you to the main sponsors – Absa, Bayer, John Deere
Financial and Syngenta, who were represented by:
Ms Belinda Jacobs (enablement marketing manager: Absa Agri-
Business).
Mr Antois van der Westhuizen (managing director: John Deere
Financial Sub Saharan Africa).
Messrs Andreas Boon (head: Technical Services, Syngenta SA)
and Ben Schoonwinkel (head: Customer Marketing, Syngenta
SA).
Ms Dudu Mashile (seed sales manager, Bayer).
McPherson also thanked the friends of the programme whose
support ensures its continued existence and said that a day like this
brings hope. ‘I believe in our future – we can do so much togeth-
er.’ These supporters include the Maize Trust, Winter Cereal Trust,
Oil and Protein Seed Development Trust, Monsanto/Bayer, Afgri,
Pioneer, Pannar and Sasol Base Chemicals.
8: Edwin Mahlatsi, the 2017 New Era Farmer of the Year, attended the 2018
celebration with his wife, Othenia, and sister, Anna. Johan Kriel (development
co-ordinator) caught up with them.
9: Amos Kubheka, a finalist for the 2018 Subsistence Farmer of the Year,
Mavis Hlatshwayo, last year’s winner in this category and Christinah Ngwenya
came from Mpumalanga to join in the festivities.
10: President and Anton Mabaso with their mentor, Willie Prinsloo. The two
brothers were finalists in the Potential Commercial Farmer of the Year.
8
9
10
Struggles and HARD WORK forgotten
“
At this event we
do not celebrate a
harvest of maize,
but a harvest
of farmers.
“