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November 2016
An ambitious young man, Mr Sizwe Innocent Ngwenya (31), from
the Piet Retief area received the award for the 2016 Grain SA/
Syngenta Smallholder Farmer of the Year. Ngwenya is cultivating the
50 ha of land he received from his father. He yielded 250 tons of
maize this year, all harvested by hand. His success is a result of
excellent soil management including conservation practices and a
strong focus on pH and nutritional balancing.
The three finalists in the category 2016 Grain SA/Absa/John Deere
Financial New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year are Messrs
Maseli Letuka (Ladybrand), Zondiwe Motshwene (Louwsburg)
and Frans Mokoena (Ladybrand). Each finalist received a voucher
from John Deere Financial which they can exchange for a piece of
farming equipment from John Deere.
The winner will be announced at Grain SA’s awards ceremony on
14 October in Midrand. The winner will once again receive a
John Deere tractor sponsored by John Deere Financial in partner-
ship with Absa.
Ms Jane McPherson (manager: Farmer Development, Grain SA)
thanked the friends of the programme – those individuals who sup-
port the programme to ensure its continued existence. Grain SA
CEO, Mr Jannie de Villiers, expressed his gratitude to every develop-
ing grain farmer who is willing to be mentored and taught, thereby
ensuring a growing harvest of grain farmers each year.
After experiencing a challenging season on their own farm,
Ms Jenny Mathews (producer from Sannieshof and previous chair-
man of the board of the Grain Farmer Development Association)
shared a special message of encouragement with farmers.
‘Coping with a season like this one has been a roller coaster,’ she
said. ‘This season has brought our farmers to their knees, but
life goes on. We have a hungry nation to feed and we still have the
ability to produce food.’
She encouraged farmers to follow the advice of Psalm 121 and to
‘look up’ and not to dwell on the negative and concluded with an
African proverb, ‘However long the night, the dawn will break’.
5: Ramodisa Monaisa (programme leader), Preline Swart (vice chairperson: Grain SA), Simon Teffo and Remember Mthethwa, joined the
500 Ton Club, Clara Mohashoa (business development coordinator, Monsanto SA) and Jaco Minnaar (chairperson: Grain SA).
6: The newest members of the 250 Ton Club are Herbert Mabuza, Sizwe Ngwenya, Edwin Mahlatsi and Vuyani Lolwane.
7: Vuyokazi Mvunge and Nosabelo Mgolombane from Mthatha in the Eastern Cape were two of the female farmers wearing colourful
traditional outfits.
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