As an emerging black farmer benefiting from the South African government’s agricultural policies aimed at offering sustainable food security, I am often asked how, after growing up in urban areas with promises of greener pastures and a brighter tomorrow, I was attracted to the rural life of farming and what my experiences have been.
I have a simple answer. I am turning typically poor hillside plots into verdant paradise in which mealie fields and vegetables are a source of food for my family, clan and village local markets, and challenging the perception that farming and food production is for khaki-clad bearded Afrikaners.