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Augustus 2015
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Increased knowledge makes
you a better farmer
T
hey say it’s all in a name and the name Lungelwa means
“all will be well”. For the 2014 Grain SA/Syngenta Small-
holder Farmer of the Year this has been true.
Lungelwa Kama from Maclear in the Eastern Cape started farming
by buying a small herd of cattle and sheep. At first she struggled
to find grazing for them, but when the Department of Rural
Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) made a farm and a few
implements available to her, Lungelwa was on her way to becoming
a commercial farmer and knew then that all would be well.
Ups and downs of farming
She mentions that the effect of the drought and the fact that she
did not have enough capital to purchase feed for her livestock in
her first year of farming, were the biggest stumbling blocks she
has had to overcome in her short farming career. This however
only made her more determined to succeed. With eyes firmly fixed
on her goal, she knew that she would benefit by obtaining more
knowledge about farming. Lungelwa then joined the Ugie Grain SA
study group and started attending the Grain SA training courses.
“Grain SA has been my biggest support in my farming career as
far as crop production and business principles goes,” she says.
The farm she received from the DRDLR has only 35 ha of arable
land, but Lungelwa and her husband, Vuyani, managed to hire an
additional 70 ha of good arable land. Since then, this mother of
three has expanded her land and now grows maize (160 ha) with
an expected yield of 8 tons/ha as well as 9 ha of potatoes and
2 ha of other vegetables. She currently owns 704 sheep and
208 cattle and rents grazing land from the timber company operat-
ing in Ugie (PG Bison). Apart from the two awards she has received,
her proudest farming moment has been the 80% lambing average
after the drought.
Women’s involvement
This accomplished farmer who received the Female Farmer of
the Year award from the Department of Agriculture Forestry and
Fisheries in 2013 feels strongly that more women should become
involved in farming. She is sure that promoting farming as a
business during women conferences at churches would motivate
more women to become interested in ensuring food security in
the country. Where possible, she would like to motivate female
farmers to attend Grain SA study groups to obtain more knowled-
ge about farming practices whereby improving their skills.
Vusi Ngesi, who is Lungelwa’s Grain SA’s grain producer develop-
ment co-ordinator, says that Lungelwa’s success can be attributed
to her passion for farming, the support of her family and Grain SA’s
training and on-farm visits.
The future
The Kama’s have built a lovely home on the farm where they live
with their children who are also developing a love for farm life,
but the energetic Lungelwa’s dreams for the future revolves
consistently around farming. She hopes to grow her farming enter-
prise so that she can purchase more land in the near future and
would also like to own her own abattoir one day. “I want to become
a fully-fledged commercial farmer producing in excess of 1 500 ha
of grain towards food security in the country,” she mentions.
About the future of agriculture Lungelwa says the following: “Agri-
culture in South Africa definitely has a future if government can
put more money into developing farmers. Subsidising young
people who are interested in a career in agriculture would give
students the opportunity to invest in the future of the country’s
food security.” She believes that the key to success is knowledge
and adds that her father, who was a farm worker, is her role-model
because he earned a small salary, but was determined to provide
a good education for his children.
This successful developing farmer regularly donates vegetables to
the Maclear and Elliot Hospitals. Lungelwa would like to be remem-
bered as a hard-worker who appreciated what was given to her.
“I also want to be remembered as a generous person who loves
embracing people,” she adds.
RELEVANT
LOUISE KUNZ,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor
Did you know?
Lungelwa was born on a farm called, The Farm, in the
Elliot district.
She is married to Vuyani Kama and has been blessed
with three children: Mzomhle (16), Khazimla (10) and
Iminathi (7).
She obtained a diploma in Tourism from Boston Col-
lege in 2005.
The three words she would use to describe herself
are: Friendly, hardworking and self-motivated.
Lungelwa Kama
Women mont h's
inspirat ion