Local female farmer ‘beets’ odds to win top prize
The mother of four said she "was shown the way" by a former neighbour in Thornhill, who prayed with her when she was unemployed and money was scarce.
POLOKWANE – Chutspah. That, and doing the best with what little she had, with people who supported and prayed for her, is what landed Tryphina Mosomane (45) the title of the Female Farmer of the Year.
The awards ceremony was presented by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development last week.
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The mother of four said she “was shown the way” by a former neighbour in Thornhill, who prayed with her when she was unemployed and money was scarce.
The kind neighbour told her she had to do something and that her own mother used to make fruit preserves. She offered to show Tryphina a few tricks and gave her a recipe and all the information she would need.
“I thought success would be hard after all, I was only a black woman, I kept thinking in my mind.”
In 2014, she finally decided to take the leap and give it a try.
“I learned by trial and error. At first I did not cook the beet, but just grated them before putting them in the bottles. It was crunchy, but not really nice.
“There was a big learning curve and my journey to success has been a long one.”
Tryphina started off working as a volunteer at an NGO from 1991 to 2013 but as she did not earn money, she was unable to afford her children’s school fees and times were tough.
As a divorced woman, now living in an RDP house in Seshego, money is still scarce.
“Some months I could not even pay the helpers who work for me, 11 in total, but they are so supportive and kept on believing in me,” she told Review.
In December 2014 she decided to take a new look at her business and improve the output.
“I started to cook the beet so it wasn’t so crunchy anymore.
“I started to package my produce nicely and added a barcode, meeting the compliance requirements of the food sector.
“In January 2015 I only made regular-flavoured beetroot and began introducing it at a grocer in the city. Because it was a new brand on the market, however, I struggled.
“In 2016 a local extension officer spoke to me and I decided to enter the Female Farmer of the Year awards.
“I was named the second best in the processing category during the awards, but I realised I must look at meeting certain criteria, such as being Halaal and being SABS compliant.
“I contacted all the necessary institutions and in 2016 I also started to add flavours to the beetroot to make it more appealing to people who preferred other than than the ‘bland’ original flavour. It now also comes in garlic, chutney, cinnamon, hot (peri-peri) and ginger flavours. I did my research and began to look at the health benefits and my logo and so ‘Healthy food for the soul’ was born,” she said.
Her business is called TM Foods and is situated in the factory shop at King’s Complex in Seshego.
“I extended my market and began selling my produce at more and more shops in the city. I also began to can chakalaka and beans and have recently began selling my products in Mokopane.”
Tryphina recently received an export certificate and is looking into exporting her wares to Lesotho. In two weeks’ time she will be going to China to talk about possibly exporting beet sugar to China through the Department of Trade and Industry.
The wonder of it all is that Tryphina is still doing all this without any machinery, and with only 11 staff who assist her. She cans 2 700 bottles per week, but her suppliers cannot cope with supplying the necessary beet she requires and she is looking at obtaining her own farm. The Department of Agriculture has promised to supply her with the necessary machinery to enhance her production which would boost her big export plans and enable her to deliver more stock to her current retail shop sellers.
She was crowned the Female Farmer of the Year 2018 after winning the category for the best agro-processor. She received R125 000 for this category and another R250 000 for being the best female farmer in the province.
She departed for East London on Wednesday to participate in the national Female Farmer Awards.
Her message to women is: “Put your trust in the Lord and He will not put you to shame; He took me from nothing to another level. Use the little you have to change the life you have.
“I am eternally grateful for all the support I have reeived from friends and family throughout my journey to success.”
