It was only after his death in 2000 that Mushe Sinoamadi’s dream of running a profitable fruit farm was brought to life. His wife, Tendani, took over the running of the 38ha Hill Crescent Estate in Levubu, Limpopo, and just three years later she has scooped this year’s Female Farmer of the Year award.
“It was quite hard because I had to pull myself together quickly and take over where he left off,” she said after the awards ceremony this week. “I just couldn’t let his dream die with him, I had to keep it alive.”
Her husband had bought the farm from a white farmer in 1995 and believed passionately that it could be a successful operation. When he died his wife was advised to sell up, but she couldn’t bring herself to do so.
“The community didn’t really believe in me. When my husband died, potential buyers wanted to buy me out. They didn’t have faith in me because I was female and black, and advised me to sell and pocket the money.”
She is grateful, however, for the support of her family, in-laws and 18-year-old son Vusani, who encouraged her to persist with farming. “My son is such a wonderful boy. He was so supportive and actually offered to study agriculture after his father died so that he could help with the farm,” she said.
And, although the labourers were initially sceptical, they also provided the support Sinoamadi needed to carry on the business. Today she employs 12 people.
The farm produces bananas and avocados, but will soon branch out into litchis and green peppers to maintain profits when bananas are out of season. The fruit is supplied to local shops, including Shoprite/Checkers, as well as local schools.
The judges of the Female Farmer of the Year award recognised Sinoamadi’s achievements in the face of heavy odds. She won an award in the category for best producer for informal markets as well as being the overall contest winner.
The criteria for awards were that the entrants were farmers in their own right, as well as role models, and that they exercise good financial management and create employment while supporting their families.
Sinoamadi’s prizes total R90 000. She plans to plough her winnings back into her farm. “I want to spend the money on things that will improve my farm, because I hope to become an exporter one day.”
The competition was started in 1999 by the national Department of Agriculture and Land Affairs and has been funded by banking institutions such as the Land Bank and Absa.
Chris Williams, director of The Rural Action Committee, an Mpumalanga NGO, said that while commercial female farmers were obvious contributors to the country’s economy, their counterparts in deep rural areas who farm marginal land also have a great impact on a local scale.
“These women provide food security and nutrition for everyone, which is priceless,” he said.
But these rural women are permanently at risk of having their tiny patches of land taken away from them.
“This is because women, unlike men, are not recognised [by custom] as people who can own land,” he said. “Women acquire land and develop it but their traditional leaders take it from them as soon as they realise the land has potential. When this happens, women have to fight for their rights.”
Sinoamadi advises women wanting to enter farming not to be dissuaded by other people’s pessimism.
“When we meet challenges we must not despair, it makes us stronger,” she said. “We should just turn a deaf ear to negative comment, ask for advice if we don’t know something, and help each other out.” — African Eye News Service