19 Jun 2014

The life of Mr Phenyo Kgosietsile of Tonota as a horticultural farmer was inspired by his late brother.

Mr Kgosietsile’s elder brother was allocated the land that the younger brother is now investing his energy in.

The 26-year-old farmer said his brother first started by having a portion of a garden at their home before he relocated to a rented garden place in Tonota and then applied for land in Ditlatsana before he died.

He is already doing what most of his peers can only dream of. His determination is obvious to any person who gets to interact with his business.

In an interview, Mr Kgosietsile elaborates on how he got to the level he is at today. It was not an easy journey but perseverance afforded him the level of success he is in today. After his brother’s death, Mr Kgosietsile said he concluded that it would only be right for him to continue the legacy.

 In 2010, he decided to sell a car left for him by his departed brother to get the money to develop the 1.7 hectare plot, that is, buying hose pipes and a water pump. 

During the same year, he applied for Youth Development Fund (YDF) to aid him in his activity as he wanted to make the garden profitable; he submitted his application to the Masunga youth offices in April and in July he received a letter that his application was approved and it was only in December that he received the money.

Some of the challenges he faced included transport to Masunga, which he had to do regularly. The YDF gave him P80 000 and he used half the amount to buy an engine for irrigation, wire and poles to fence the horticulture plot, as well as hosepipes, sprinklers, diesel and seeds.

Mr Kgosietsile plants a range of vegetables: green pepper, rape, onions, cabbage, butternuts, maize, beetroots, spinach, tomatoes and carrots. He first planted in March 2011 but unfortunately, the water pump stopped working two months later.

“I was devastated when the pump died because it us the one that waters the plants and as a result, they all died and it was a huge loss for me,” he said.

He said eventually after a month he got a new pump and had to plant afresh and this time around, he used his own money and it was not easy.

Mr Kgosietsile said he uses row planting method because it is neat and makes it easier for him to identify the plants easily when harvesting. In addition to supermarkets in Tonota, Mr Kgosietsile supplies street vendors and individuals. Transport remains one of his greatest challenges.

“I do not have my own vehicle so I usually have to hire people’s vehicles for transportation to Francistown to sell the vegetables,” he said.

Other challenges occur from time to time. Heavy rains at the beginning of the rainy season damaged his crops. However, he said he was aware that business always has challenges.

Mr Kgosietsile said at the moment he markets his business through word of mouth. His vision is that he will be earning a living through horticulture during the next five years. One of the benefits of funding by the Department of Youth is that there is continuous assessment, accompanied by moral support. 

He said he valued the encouragement that he got from the department. ENDS