/ 13 September 2013

Sound advice for farmers

The 2006 forensic report prepared for Zuma's trial that never saw the light of day ... now made available in the public interest.
The outcome of the ANC’s long-awaited KwaZulu-Natal conference was a win for the Thuma Mina crowd. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Fyvie, from Harrismith in the Free State, believes in showing appreciation and instilling pride in her employees.

“A single disgruntled employee who deliberately damages produce destined for market can do huge damage to the farming business’s brand,” says Fyvie.

Fyvie runs Fyvie Farming, a berry and apple enterprise, with her husband and employs more than 300 employees across nine farms.

She believes in creating an environment that accommodates the holistic needs of her farmworkers.

Not only does the enterprise sponsor the employees’ soccer team, it also has childcare facilities for farmworkers with young children.

Fyvie and her family also mentor emerging black farmers.

Her commitment to creating a good work environment is just one of the reasons that she bagged the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries Female Entrepreneur of the Year award last year.

She used the prize money to buy 427 sheep with lambs, which more than doubled Fyvie Farming’s commercial mutton and wool enterprise.

This success came after facing many challenges, including debt.

Fyvie and her husband were in debt when they started the enterprise.

This is why she advises emerging and experienced farmers to get financial advice to deal with debt.

She believes in structuring debt into short, medium and long-term loans. Short-term loans should be used for buying production inputs, while medium-term loans should be used to buy agricultural equipment, she says.

Long-term loans should be for buying land, or in Fyvie’s case, for investment schemes such as their apple orchard development.

This is all to ensure that the cash flow of the business stays positive, she says.

“Don’t be tempted to buy medium-term assets out of your current account even if its flush, because you may need to tap into this account if an unexpected bad year occurs.”