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November 2016
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Subsistence Farmer of the Year category (0 ha - 10 ha)
Teamwork makes the task easier
‘I
f you want to go fast, go alone. If
you want to go far, go together.’ This
African proverb about teamwork
sums up the success story of the
winner of the 2016 Grain SA/Absa Subsist-
ence Farmer of the Year award, Mr Mzwayi
David Zuma (66) and his wife of 40 years,
Goodness.
Together they work the 10 ha of arable
communal land to which they have access,
planting maize and soybeans. They also
own a small number of livestock for own
use. ‘I think what makes our job easier is
that the two of us are united and we sup-
port each other,’ the 66 year old grandfather
said in a DVD presentation presented dur-
ing the awards ceremony.
Zuma was raised by his mother and grand-
mother and almost everything they did,
involved agriculture. This developed his in-
terest in agriculture and after the passing
of these two influential women, he carried
on with their agricultural garden. To him
agriculture is life; something one cannot do
without.
He joined Grain SA in 2002 and to this
formidable team from the Estcourt area in
KwaZulu-Natal, Grain SA’s expert mentor-
ship has opened up a whole new world
of possibilities. In the DVD the team men-
tioned this too.
‘We are harvesting more maize than we
did before we joined,’ Zuma said and his
wife added: ‘Although we were working
hard and produced well, we were not even
close to the level we are now with the help
from the Grain SA programme’. Despite
the late rains, they harvested 22 tons of
maize from 8 ha planted.
The Zumas have their own unique way of
planting – some maize is planted by hand,
some by machine and some by their own
technique, which yielded better than the
other methods. With an effective new
maize thresher, they will, however, no
longer have to strip the cobs by hand. This
thresher forms part of an initiative where-
by Grain SA, government and agri-busi-
nesses joined forces to increase yields on
communal land and to find more productive
ways of getting the maize off the cob.
Increased production will mean more
mechanisation and more training in terms of
maintenance, management and marketing.
With the help of their children, grandchil-
dren and the spirited community of Umt-
shezi, this couple is ready for the new chal-
lenges that await them.
In his acceptance speech at the 2016 Day of
Celebration, Zuma thanked all the women in
his life who have supported him and made
this achievement possible.
For the future he dreams of a bigger farm
where his livestock can have separate graz-
ing and not eat his crops! He would also
like his children to become involved in the
farming operation and continue with what
he started. But for now, he considers him-
self blessed with the midlands of KwaZulu-
Natal as his surroundings, a good harvest
and a wife ’with a smile like the sun’.
GRAIN SA
Awards ceremony
LOUISE KUNZ,
SA Graan/Grain
contributor and
HELENUS KRUGER,
photos
1: This award is made possible by Absa. With Mzwayi David Zuma are
Jannie de Villiers (CEO: Grain SA), Cobus Wells (head: Absa AgriBusiness Africa)
and Jaco Minnaar (chairperson: Grain SA).
2: Mzwayi Zuma and his wife, Goodness, make a great team.
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