WeeklySA_AdminSELF-RELIANCE: Taking over the farm from her mom, budding farmer Qhawekazi Fadana has entered an entrepreneur’s programme to take on the challenge…
By WSAM Reporter
The idiom “it runs in the family”, meaning a habitual trait is sometimes passed on from one generation to the next, is a daily reality that holds true in all walks of life.
So, it is no surprise that a 37-year-old Qhawekazi Fadana, a young woman from a village in Engcobo, 70km north of East London, chose farming as a vocation, instead of looking to trekking to a big city to establish a career.
But, being exposed to farming while working together with her mother, an award-winning small-scale farmer Philiswa Fadana, following in her footsteps became a natural progression. Having worked together on the farm for several years, the big test came when she had to take over the reins.
Hardly a small task as she took over the full responsibility of running a farm with a full value-chain operation in free-range poultry, with about 3 000 chickens at any one time, supplying other farmers with day-old chicks, and supermarkets with eggs and fresh meat in that part of the Eastern Cape.
Additionally, the 230ha farm also breeds Brahmin and Bonsmara cattle both for slaughter in the on-site abattoir and sale of weaners to breeders; as well as oversees a thriving merino sheep herd of about 300 for both wool and meat.
Fadana grew up around farming at Mhlelisa Farm in Haga Haga, but also lived and worked for a time in Cape Town, where she was introduced to urban markets like the Old Biscuit Mill. Her eye-opening experience in the Mother City inspired her to bring to the East London area a similar concept of a market offering fresh produce, meats and other locally produced goods that add value to agricultural output.
Looking to expand the business through strategies for growth and “working smarter”, Fadana has entered a business programme run by the Stellenbosch Business School’s Small Business Academy (SBA) in East London. She is one of 28 entrepreneurs and small business owners who enrolled in the first intake. After just a few weeks on the programme, she already believes it is the key to unlocking her business vision.
“Positive change started for me in just the first week, when we had lectures on organisational culture. I had some people issues in my business and those sessions gave me the practical advice and confidence to restructure my entire business, and it is already paying off,” she said.
“We have survived the setbacks of Covid-19, load-shedding and avian flu, to the extent that our sheep operation can’t keep up with demand and we are applying for more land to avoid over-grazing as we currently have too many animals per hectare.
“I want to grow, not only the size of the land, but also the business and its wider impact to stimulate the local economy and community. The SBA programme is opening my eyes to smarter ways of doing things, to see what is missing, why business is not moving, how to rectify that, and also how to pursue my bigger picture,” Fadana said.
“I know I was not born to be an employee. I want to contribute and create, to be a leader not a follower. I want to stimulate my community and the local economy into action,” she said.
The East London SBA was launched in partnership with the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and the Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB).
It is the newest addition, and the second in the Eastern Cape (the other In Aliwal North), to Stellenbosch Business School’s development programme for entrepreneurs in low-income, marginalised communities. The SBA has branched out over the last 12 years, from low-income Cape Town communities into the wider Western Cape province, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape.
The programme has reached 463 small businesses to date, of which 80,8% are still in business and growing, with 91,8% full time jobs created and 88,9% part time new jobs created. SBA Head Dr Armand Bam said the programme aimed to counter the high failure-rate of small businesses in South Africa, by “equipping small business owners with the tools they need to defy the odds and succeed”.
“Small businesses have been the backbone of our economy, both in the past and today. SMEs contribute over 60% of employment and nearly 34% of GDP in South Africa. The ripple-effect of their impact on families, communities and socio-economic development is immeasurable, but without solid business knowledge and support, too many of them fail.
“The SBA is designed to bridge the gap between education and economic empowerment, by providing formal business education, practical skills, and ongoing mentoring and development opportunities. The programme aims to foster a mindset of adaptability and innovation in an ever-changing world, and empower participants to use their businesses to contribute meaningfully to local socio-economic development and the broader economy as profitable, sustainable enterprises,” Bam said.
After two months on the nine-month programme that blends business theory, practical skills and mentoring, Fadana is enthusiastic about prospects and says the programme has already had tangible impact on “working smarter, not harder” in her business. “It has been a masterclass on compliance and the documents one needs to have in hand to apply for government grants and the many business-funding opportunities out there.
“It has also been an education into finances and tax; the right questions to ask your accountant to ensure that you have proper oversight into your own finances, and how to legitimately reduce your tax burden.”
She also values the networking aspect of the programme, for the mutual support and information-sharing amongst participants.
“We are all so excited, even as older students we love going to class. We are learning so much and support each other. We are building a network for the future.
“This programme is incredible for people who are in business, but lack an education background in business,” Fadana said.
Fadana aims for her diversified free-range poultry and stock farming operation to build on existing commercial success and catalyse growth and innovation in the rural Wild Coast.
When her farmworkers can buy their own cars – and she can sit around the table “in my shorts, just like the male farmers in their shorts” – Fadana will know she’s arrived as a serious player in the commercial farming community.
