By Judy Figland – Fr Siyabonga Mbeje, Provincial Superior of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill (CMM), met with the tenants running small agri-farming businesses on the Mariannhill Monastery Farm in KwaZulu-Natal for the first time.
The 20-hectare farm is divided into smaller portions and leased to a number of small agri-farmers leasing two or three hectares of land for their farming businesses.
Currently, Mdaks Piggery, owned by Thulani Mdadane, leases three hectares for a piggery which includes a small butchery.
Zathemba Holdings, owned by Zabile Mavundla, trading under Fab Farms, is involved in chicken farming and the planting of vegetables, mainly cabbage and spinach, on their three hectares of land.
Imisebe Agri-business, owned by two young sisters Nqobile and Nokhukanya Cele, is involved in planting vegetables and at present is focusing on Butternut on their two hectares of land.
Three young women, Zinhle Hlophe, Zama Makhanya and Nomti Khanyile, run a small nursery where they raise seedlings for planting.
A small organisation called Convert the Dirt, led by Nathalie Teixeira, is involved in taking food waste and converting it into organic compost, which supports the farmers. They are doing all their due diligence with the Department of Environmental Affairs in order to secure a lease with the Monastery for 3 hectares of land.
Gateway City College, led by Alex Mtolo, Bernard Makanda and Nhlanhla Ngubeni, are involved in a labour activation programme and has two learnerships registered with Agri-SETA, namely, Plant Production and Animal Production, which have one hundred students doing theory and practical training on the farm. The students are hosted by the small- scale tenant farmers for their practical training.
Fr Mbeje encouraged all the farm tenants and shared that it brought him immense joy to see the positive energy of the young farmers and the passion with which they embraced the vision of the Congregation of the Mariannhill Missionaries.
Judy Figland serves as the Mariannhill Mission Institute Property Administrator
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