Commercial farmer Thabitha Chauke is preparing to expand her operations by another 600 hectares after harvesting 500 hectares of sunflower in May.
It’s been a year and a half since Chauke relocated to the farm from her home in Hlagalakwena in Lephalale, Limpopo.
Chauke, 40, is a beneficiary of government’s Land Acquisition Programme which identifies and helps farmers from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire land for commercial farming.
After 10 years of applying to the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform (DARDLR) without success, Chauke never lost hope and continued to apply.
In 2022 her application was succesful and she was awarded a 1239 hectare-farm portion 6 and 7 of Kaalvlakte 416 KQ located in Northam under the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in the Waterberg District. The farm was acquired from the seller at the value of R12.5 million in 2017 and awarded to Chauke in 2022.
From being a small scale crop farmer to a large scale commercial farmer, Chauke now employs 10 people, five of them permanently and another five seasonally.
She has also since established a market 5km away from the farm where she sells her produce to AFGRI.
Chauke shared her journey with Mukurukuru Media during a visit by the DARDLR to assess whether the farming project is achieving the expected results and whether the livelihood of the beneficiary and her family has improved since.
“I wish the visit would have been when the sunflower is in bloom just so you can see how beautiful my farm looks. Unfortunately at this time the farm looks rather dry as preparations for planting are underway,” a beaming Chauke said.
“We now have a big storage where we store some of our equipment as well as our sunflower once its harvested. Also the process of building us a house on the farm was accelerated and now I live here with my family in the two bedroom house,” Chauke said.
The visit coincided with the beneficiary celebrating her first anniversary on the property while the department used the opportunity to celebrate both the anniversary and Women’s Month.
At the time of acquisition, the farm was used for sunflower, sorghum and cattle production by the previous owner.
Growing up with a father who was a sugarcane and vegetable farmer, Chauke knew that she will become a farmer herself. She carried on the family’s farming legacy following the death of her father.
Although the journey was not easy, Chauke was persistent and now takes the chance to learn more about sunflower farming from other farmers who have been in the industry for long.
“I wanted to become a commercial farmer because when I saw on the media that other women were getting opportunities from the government. I applied for 10 years and was only approved last year,” she said.
“The department really helped me, not only with giving me the land but even with grain equipment that is suitable for sunflower farming and even now I am still receiving support. Where I fall short, they step in to assist,” she said.
Besides sunflower farming Chauke also does cattle breeding on the farm.
“I always loved to be in the bushes relocating from where I was to my farm was not a major issue because my focus was on taking the opportunity given to me and running with it,” she said.
“For me, farming is all about taking risks because things won’t always be the same, so keep at it because one day it will be worthwhile. For those who want to become farmers just be patient and start wherever you are and remember if I was able to do it after 10 years of applying its possible for anyone too.”
Chauke cites access to water as her biggest challenge, and as a result, she is looking into other alternatives to ensure that she has water on her farm.
Director of strategic land acquisition in the DARDLR, Mukovhe Nthai said the Land Acquisition Programme seeks to improve livelihoods of farmers. Mukovhe said its priority targets include women, previously disadvantaged individuals, youth, military veterans.
Director of the Waterberg district, Sigqibo Mfuwo added that under the Land Redistribution Programme, there is a new package of assistance provided through a program called Land Development Support for Farmers.
“The support programme provides assistance to farmers after land has been provided, which includes production input for 250 hectares, tools like fences, tractors and residential structures; as well as any other interventions that farmers may require to ensure that they successfully transition from small-scale farmers to commercial farmers and join the mainstream agriculture industry,” Mfuwo said.
Chauke hopes to expand the size of her operation in the future by adding the production of livestock, but she is now considering her alternatives for getting water into the farm so that the animals can survive. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
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