September 2014
14
Hereare theGrainSA/AbsaSubsistence
Farmer of theYear finalists
G
rain SA recently hosted their annual Developing Farmer
of the Year competition to acknowledge the successes
of deserving developing farmers. The competition
consists of three categories in order to create a platform
for all types of farmers to compete fairly. The three categories
are: Subsistence Farmer of the Year (farming on 0 - 10 hectares),
Smallholder Farmer of the Year (farming on anything from
10 hectares, but producing less than 250 tons of grain) and
New Era Commercial Farmer of the Year (producing more than
250 tons of grain). The winners for all three categories will be
announced at the Day of Celebration function in Bloemfontein on
2October this year.
GRAIN SA
JANEMCPHERSON,
Grain Farmer Development Programme, Grain SA
E
noch Khumalo grew up in a rural area
where his father had a small piece of
land, growingmaizeon a subsistencebasis.
Enoch worked as a farm worker for about
30 years,mainlywith sheep and cattle.
In 2009, Enoch joined the Donkerhoek
Study Groupwhen it was formed and he is
still a loyal member of the groupwhilst also
attending various training courses.
This year Enoch hasmanaged to plant 3 ha
of maize. He has access to 6 ha, but due to
a lack of funds he was not able to plant the
entire area. The crop has respondedwell to
hismanagement andhe is expecting tohar-
vestmore than 6 ton/ha.
G
ladys Patheleni Zondo was born in
Emmaus in 1967 where she grew up
and went to Emmaus Primary School until
grade 4. Gladys has always been self-em-
ployed by mending andmaking clothes for
the community.
She has access to 3 ha of arable land in the
communal area in which she resided. In
the past she used to plant the entire area
in an attempt to get sufficient maize for the
family’s staple food for the year. Since us-
ingmodern production practices, Gladys is
able to plant only 0,25 ha of maize to be as-
sured of the 1 ton that her family requires
for the year. She has changed her produc-
tion practice to no-till with chemical weed
control and thishasmadeher lifemucheas-
ier as well as providing more food for the
family. Now Gladys is able to use the re-
mainderof the land togrowbeansandother
vegetables.
T
hokoMatha Mofokeng was born in Em-
maus where she also grew up. She
attended school at the Ngwadi Primary
School and left in grade 2. In 2005, Thoko
met with a local extension officer who
taught her about farming and in 2009 she
met with Mshefane (Jurie Mentz) who also
taught hermany valuable things about agri-
culture. Since then shehasn’t lookedback.
Thoko is a member of the Emmaus Study
Groupandhasattended trainingcourses for
maizeproduction. AlthoughThokoonly cul-
tivates1haofmaizebyhand, shewould like
to accessmore land and increase the sizeof
the land that sheplantsbyhand. Plantingby
handwas a big challenge, but she has now
overcome the challenge by buying a hand
held planter and knapsack sprayer for her-
self andby usingRoundupReady seed.
EnochKhumalo
Region:
Mpumalanga
Nearest town:
Piet Retief
Provincial co-ordinator:
NaasGouws
GladysPhatheleni Zondo
Region:
KwaZulu-Natal
Nearest town:
Winterton
Provincial co-ordinator:
JurieMentz
ThokoMathaMofokeng
Region:
KwaZulu-Natal
Nearest town:
Winterton
Provincial co-ordinator:
JurieMentz
1: EnochKhumalo.
2:Members of the
panel of judges
standing among
Enoch’s 3haof
maize.
1: ThokoMatha
Mofokeng.
2: Thokoonly culti-
vates 1haofmaize
byhand; shewould
however like to ac-
cessmore land and
increase the sizeof
the land that she
plants (byhand).
1:Gladys Patheleni
Zondo.
2: Sinceusing
modernproduction
practices, Gladys is
able toplant only
0,25haofmaize
tobe assuredof
the 1 ton that her
family requires for
the year.
1
2
2
2
1
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GrainProducerof theYear
