Albert Chinhanga, one of the N7 Farmers. |
Land-owner on N7 bet them that it was unprofitable. Five Zimbabwean men
have been successfully growing crops on land abandoned as unprofitable
in Malmesbury. The landowner, N7 Meat, gave up farming crops on the
land, claiming losses of over R1 million.
Zinhanga and four
friends met the landowner when buying an ox for slaughter at N7 Meat in
2014. Noticing fallow land, they asked why it was unutilised. The farmer
said it was unprofitable and if the Zimbabweans refused to believe him,
he said they could try and farm it for free for a year. They could use
his farming equipment and only pay for electricity. He bet them they
could not make a go of it.
According to one of
the Zimbabweans, Albert Zinhanga, a teacher of African languages at
Cravenby High School in Parow, the farmer was told it would cost
R300,000 to correct the pH of the soil. He didn't want to invest further
and continued concentrating on rearing sheep, cattle and pigs elsewhere
on his farm.
Zinhanga has four
partners; one does have a doctorate in agriculture, the others have
degrees in physics, science and engineering.
"We never dreamt or
even thought that one day we will be farmers," said Zinhanga. "We were
just a group of academics driving around buying farm products."
The five men tested
the soil and the water and it seemed good to them, albeit sandy. To
counter this, they say they watered continuously before planting any
crops. They planted three hectares in all, with tomatoes, cauliflower,
broccoli, spinach and maize.
Neighbouring
farmers, watching the developments, came to them and gave advice. They
also introduced the men to Cape Town Epping Market to sell their
produce.
According to one of
the Zimbabweans, Albert Zinhanga, a teacher of African languages at
Cravenby High School in Parow, the farmer was told it would cost
R300,000 to correct the pH of the soil. He didn't want to invest further
and continued concentrating on rearing sheep, cattle and pigs elsewhere
on his farm.
Zinhanga has four
partners; one does have a doctorate in agriculture, the others have
degrees in physics, science and engineering.
"We never dreamt or
even thought that one day we will be farmers," said Zinhanga. "We were
just a group of academics driving around buying farm products."
The five men tested
the soil and the water and it seemed good to them, albeit sandy. To
counter this, they say they watered continuously before planting any
crops. They planted three hectares in all, with tomatoes, cauliflower,
broccoli, spinach and maize.
Neighbouring
farmers, watching the developments, came to them and gave advice. They
also introduced the men to Cape Town Epping Market to sell their
produce.
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