The former Agriculture Female Entrepreneur Award winner in the Eastern Cape, Zoliwe Nombewu, from Madwaleni Administrative Area in Tsolo, plants crops over 200 hectares of land, where she cultivates grain such as maize and dry beans and vegetables.
She harvested maize from 128 hectares of the land last week, in the presence of officials from the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform.
She said that she started by planting only two hectares of land in 2008, which had grown to a whopping 200 hectares by 2020.
Nombewu confirmed that she had been approached by subsistence farmers in the area to help them fence and plant their fallow land.
“I started farming in 2008, planting vegetables on two hectares of land.
“Over the years, that gradually increased and, as of now, I have 200 hectares of land, which I use to plant maize, dry beans and vegetables.
“These farmers in Madwaleni contacted me and asked me to assist them with planting their fields,” said Nombewu.
According to her, the fields were not fenced so she bought fencing for the fields and they started planting.
She added that the land was not in a good condition when they started; as a result they only yielded about 2.5 tons per hectare.
“Now we see a bit of improvement but we have yet to count the actual yield since we are still harvesting.
“DRDAR assisted the farmers with mechanisation, a bore-hole and production inputs,” she said.
Apart from the land, Nombewu also owns a fleet of farming machinery, including four heavy-duty dicers, six rippers and boom sprayers.
One of the farmers who are working with Nombewu at Madwaleni, Zama Rawe said they were forever grateful for the DRDAR and Nombewu’s help.
“We used to plant these fields before but we stopped because livestock would come into our fields and eat the produce.
“The fields were lying fallow for three years and, in 2018, we sought assistance from Nombewu. We really appreciate the department’s intervention,” said Rawe.
He added that DRDAR had availed fencing covering 100 hectares of land, which have been disked, ripped and ready for planting.
“We need the department to assist us with a borehole or water pump so that we are able to use more land for vegetable farming.
“With this we sustain ourselves and our families and we not looking for government handouts all the time,” he said.
Special programmes unit director for the DRDAR, Lulu Manitshana, praised Nombewu for her hard work.
“Women of Madwaleni should work hard and support her strides.”
