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Maart 2017
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Frans Mokoena: A man with
a passion for work
M
r Frans Mokoena, a son from
the Thaba Nchu district, is a
young man with a passion for
farming. He grew up on a small
farm where his parents farmed with dairy
cattle.
As a young boy he had to help with the work
on the farm. In the mornings, he helped
milking the cows by hand, loaded the milk
onto the bakkie, turned the cows out to pas-
ture and then, if there was time left, went
to school.
In the afternoons he had to bring the cat-
tle home, feed them and help to plant fod-
der. Working on the farm taught Mokoena
to work hard every day 24/7; he learned
from his parents not only to work hard, but
also to be honest, prioritise his work and to
live within his means. But most of all they
taught him to live his passion, be humble
and live in the fortunes of Christ.
Exploit opportunities
Mokoena holds the viewpoint that there
are always opportunities that need to be ex-
ploited. With hard work and eyes wide open,
he utilised the opportunities that came his
way. His parents passed away when he
was 21 years old and he had to take the sole
responsibility for the farming enterprise.
Over time he has expanded his business by
leasing more communal land and expand-
ing the dairy.
As a farmer he always strives for the best.
In 2006 he became part of the Grain SA
Farmer Development Programme and after
that his business started to expand rapidly.
He strove to become a commercial pro-
ducer and as such had the opportunity to
become one.
Knowledge
Knowledge is the key to everything. He at-
tends training courses and learned how to
implement production systems in his farm-
ing operation. He also learned how to apply
inputs – and most of all where to buy what.
He started to take note of the importance of
soil samples, the importance of soil pH and
the contribution that a balanced fertiliser
strategy had on production.
He began to apply his own business skills
and expanded his business even more. For-
tunately he remembers the lessons that he
learned at home. He started to buy tractors,
repair them and then use them in his farm-
ing enterprise.
Mokoena started off with 58 ha, expanded
his farming enterprise and this year he cul-
tivates 2 200 ha. He leases the farms from
various producers, local government and
from the national government. Leasing
farms does have challenges, though.
Obtaining production credit is always a
challenge, because nothing can be pre-
sented as collateral for a loan. Capital im-
provements can therefore not be done. His
biggest challenge is to correct the soil pH
and to get other soil nutrients up to standard.
‘I can’t invest money to lower the risk and to
make more money,’ he said.
He mainly produces sunflower, maize and
teff. The livestock section consists mainly
of cattle. The maize and sunflower pro-
duced, are sold to a local agricultural busi-
ness and the teff is sold to customers in
Lesotho.
Currently the crops are planted in a con-
ventional system with the aim to maximise
profit. He applies a reduced tillage system
where rippers and chisel ploughs are used.
The seedbed is made and during planting
herbicides and pesticides are applied.
ON FARM LEVEL
New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year
Management practices
– Grain SA/Absa/John Deere Financial
New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year
PIETMAN BOTHA,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor
1: Frans Mokoena and his wife, Agnes, at the Grain SA
Awards Ceremony in October last year.
1