Benjamin makes it big in crop farming
Young crop farmer, Benjamin Nkanyane, says farming has been in his blood since childhood.
He was inspired by his late mother, Sarah Nkanyana, who was a farm worker.
She taught him the basics of farming and was the main provider in his childhood home as his father was a construction worker who didn’t always had an income.
“As I grew older, I started realising that there was more to farming than what meets the eye.
“I became aware that if I start my own farm, I can create employment for others to help them to feed their families,” he said.
He has a BSc degree in Agriculture and has worked at several agricultural companies.
However, in 2019 he resigned to start Ndavhuha Farming Enterprise.
Kanyane (33) currently leases 26 hectares of farm land in Mooketsi where he produces crops such as butternut, watermelon, beetroot, cabbage and spinach amongst others.
He was recently part of Metropolitan Collective Shapers programme, which empowers young people in different fields.
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Through this programme he was further assisted by learning marketing skills.
He says he is now paying-it-forward as his farm took in six students who are enrolled at different institutions across South Africa studying agricultural after he was part of the programme.
These students will go through a year of practical training to complete their qualifications. They are paid a stipend by the Agricultural Sector Education Training Authority (Seta).
Amongst the skills they acquire through this initiative include experience around activities such as spraying, weeding, planting, soil preparation and the transportation of produce to markets.
“I hope to in future be able to contribute to the reduction of local unemployment by creating jobs, providing skills and training to communities and schools.
“I will be able to pay the favour forward by helping young people in the same way that the programme helped me,” explained Nkanyane.
He was originally born in Sebayeng village outside Polokwane.
His main clients are retailers, school feeding schemes and vegetable markets around Limpopo.
Follow Ndavhuha Farming Enterprise on social media or send an email to Davhuha01@gmail.com or call 082 504 9489.
