Durban - A flourishing beef farm in the hands of a woman on the KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast has been characterised as a testimony that women can do it on their own.
As part of the women's month celebration, the KZN Department of Agriculture is on a mission to showcase thriving agricultural projects under women’s watch.
Lindokuhle Ngubane, 37, took over the ownership of Tsar Beef farm in Franklin, near Kokstad with just a few livestock in 2015.
Within five years, she has managed to multiply her livestock and employed six people permanently, thanks to a R4 million investment made by the Agricultural Development Agency.
The 1700 ha farm now boasts 120 cows, 8 bulls, 60 sheep, and 100 weaners (lamb)
This week, the farm was officially launched as part of the women-owned agricultural project as the country embrace women impact and role in the society in honour of fearless women who march against pass laws imposed by the apartheid government in 1956.
Ngubane was grateful for the investment she received which enabled her to buy all the necessary equipment.
“We managed to build a feed lot, we bought production stock as a start-up. This has enabled us to multiply our production and we hope to achieve more and assist other people,” said Ngubane.
Speaking during the launch, Bongi Sithole-Moloi praised Ngubane for her fortitude saying it was evidence that women deserved more opportunities.
She called for land to be redistributed among women as a solution for a transformed agricultural sector.
Sithole-Moloi said it was unfair that while the women were a majority within the agricultural sector, yet they remained at the edge of the economy and land allocation.
“The launch of a 100% black women-owned farm affirms that women have the power to change their situations. They deserve land as a matter of urgency to ensure that programmes developed by the government are implemented successfully.
“These are the women that dispel the general narratives that woman cannot do it for themselves, that farming is in white men’s genes, that running a business is in the male genes and that it was better off during apartheid government,” Sithole-Moloi said.
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Sunday Tribune