YOUNG FARMER
A man with a passion for farming
W
ith not much
more than a
burning passion
for farming and a firm vision
for his future, 26 year old
Mpho Mphoza followed his
dream into a career in
agriculture immediately after
completing his matric.
He commenced on a project
at the Rooiwal Agricultural
Village under the Vombani
Family Trust, where they were
given five tunnels for a period
of a year by the Tshwane
Agricultural Department, in
which they planted tomatoes
and green peppers.
Mphoza next received
training on how to mix
fertilisers and put water in the
tanks by the Soshanguve
Agricultural Village.
Mphoza's duties as a farmer
are not only focused on
planting and selling. He has to
make sure that the farm is
crop has its own
way of growing
and it needs its
own unique
treatment, he
attended an
introductory
short course in
plant production, comprising
planning in
relation to the
environment
Mpho Mphoza gets down to work
and planting
kept neat by removing weeds crops under supervision, for
that might have a negative
which he was awarded a
impact on the growth of his
certificate from the
crops, he must maintain
Agricultural Research Council
irrigation systems and keep
and in December 2015 he
records about crops and
was awarded certificates from
pesticides so that he can see if the Perishable Products Export
there is any abnormality.
Control Board (PPECB) and
Packaging the crops and
the SA Bureau of Standards
transport to the various
(SABS) for attending a short
markets is also part of his
course in introduction to food
remit.
safety and good agricultural
Realising that each and every practise. Later, his efforts
12
www.sasmallholder.co.za
resulted in him being voted
the best young farm worker
award in the Farmer
Entrepreneur of the year
awards for 2015.
Says Mphoza: “In the next
three years I want to see
myself having and managing
my own farm.”
He adds: “This is a call out to
all young South Africans, male
or female, to open their eyes
and see how far one can go
with agriculture and make a
living out of it. Looking at the
fact that job opportunities are
very rare and it is a crisis that
won't be solved at any time
soon, and the food prices are
busy going up, one must start
to think about how to make
life easy and going…..farming
is the solution which requires
only determination, hard
work and willingness to
explore more in the world of
farmers.”