Nontokozo Mchunu

Small scale farmer is transmuting her farming goals into physical reality.

Nombulelo Madlala is a proud owner of Simbulelo farms and a supplier of her community in Sweetwater’s Pietermaritzburg.

Madlala grows a variety of crops which include cabbage, spinach, onions, carrots and potatoes. She believes they are a necessity in every household and also beneficial to small businesses in the area.

“For us rural farmers, growing and selling crops directly to the community is profitable. Take potatoes for instance, there are a lot of places that sell fried chips in the community, supplying to these small businesses is beneficial,” said Madlala.

Having lost her mother at the age of ten, her family helped instill virtues that gave her a sense of independence, responsibility and growth at a young age which shaped her into the woman that she is today.

She is not the first to own a farm in her family but has now brought it back after her family allegedly lost their land ten years ago.

“One of the things that are of importance to me and my family is getting back the land that was taken years ago. The process is strenuous, I am young and not taken seriously but I am still going with full force regardless of how I am viewed,” she added.

Although Madlala is not a large scale farmer yet she plans to own multiple farms in Pietermaritzburg in future, specifically poultry, crops and livestock.

The aspiring full scale farmer encouraged the youth to start and also be prepared for challenges as farming was not only about plowing and watering crops.

Picture: Supplied