LIMPOPO – Due to the high demand for food and a lack of employment within the community, Mutshizi Lambani took the responsibility upon himself to start a farming project.
The 24-year-old farmer from Ha-Lambani village outside Thohoyandou said he initially started to plant vegetables such as cabbage and maize to sell to local residents.
“South Africa’s youth always complain about employment, so I saw an opportunity. I developed a love for farming when I was eight years old. In 2018, I moved to Ha-Makhuvha Tshilivho where I started to see the lack of vegetable farmers in that village. I started a small-scale farm at home in June, 2019, and people supported me very well,” Lambani said.
You might also want to read: Musiiwa dreams of becoming a commercial farmer
After he ceased his N2 Electrical Engineering studies, he decided to be a full-time farmer.
“I started to supply my stock to supermarkets like Spar and to other businesses that sell vegetables around Thohoyandou, Malamulele and Saselemani. In 2021, I asked my neighbours to plant crops on their stands because my own land became too small. The Department of Agriculture luckily gave me R38 000 to buy chemicals and fertilisers, which made my business grow faster,” he said.
Lambani has big dreams for the farming project but, since he uses his own money, it has not always been easy. He said his goal is to expand the land he currently farms on and employ more young people and eventually buy his own equipment.
He told CV for now he works full-time with his mother, but he occasionally hires five people for part-time jobs.
“I am happy to see other people getting food because of me. I am happy to supply big brands like Spar. This year, I was in the top 10 of Vhembe Youth Farmers. It was a great achievement for me because it shows that I have an impact on my community. It was not a simple journey, we are many farmers in the competition. It was the quality of my products that impressed the panel of judges. My biggest challenge now is land because there is a high demand for food, which I cannot always meet due to the small size of my crops,” he concluded.
