03 Sep 2013

Speaking Latin to emphasise a point in court or quoting big law books to defend a client, is something Mr Thebe Makgabenyana does all week.

Come Friday, the youthful Kanye-born attorney stops speaking big English words and heads to his farm. There he speaks Setswana to his workers, as he goes about doing what he likes most: looking after his cattle.

However, Mr Makgabenyana is not just interested in watching and grooming his prized cattle, but views the whole operation as a commercial venture. That is why he participated at the just ended national agricultural show.

He wanted to advertise his Simmental bulls so that Batswana could know where to find him if they want to buy bulls. Growing up in a family of farmers helped the young Mr Makgabenyana appreciate the value of agriculture and to aspire to become a commercial farmer.

“My father quit his job sometime in the early 70s, and up to today he is still a farmer,” said Mr Makgabenyana, adding that seeing how he prospered through farming also made him to take after him.”

Mr Makgabenyana said he was also inspired by some of his friends who did stud breeding and decided to join the group.  He established his farming company in 2008 and started Simmental stud breeding in 2012. 

Every business has its own challenges, and Mr Makgabenyana has had his fair share and cites the costs of feed as one of them. Botswana’s recurring drought also presents challenges to both pastoral and arable farmers.

“Last year, we thought it was going to be bad, but this year proved to be extremely bad,” he added. He added that Botswana Meat Commission also offered low prices for their cattle. “As farmers the prices are set for us instead of us dictating the prices as the producers.”

Despite all these challenges, Mr Makgabenyana said perseverance and his love for farming has been his driving force to carry on with the business. He added that although he was struggling to move ahead, he would never quit.

He credits his mother for standing by him and believing in him during trying challenges. “The one person who helped me most to overcome my challenges is my mother,” he said, adding that she is the backbone of his farming enterprise. “Without her I would have failed. She is the one who supports me more than any other person.”

Mr Makgabenyana said love and passion for farming should come before profit, noting that agriculture is a long-term investment with high expenditure during the first two years.

“People should take farming as more of a commercial enterprise than a hobby,” he said. “Farmers should go to the farm for a purpose, not just to look at their cattle and come back. Every trip they make to their farm should be worthwhile.”

Mr Makgabenyana said he is optimistic about the future of farming. “No matter what obstacles or hurdles BMC may go through, farming will never die in Botswana,” he said, adding that ‘we are a beef producing country and most of us went to school because our parents were farmers.’ 

Mr Makgabenyana noted that cattle farming was labour-intensive. He said one should be hands on instead of employing and instructing other people to do the work. “If you want to get things done properly, you should do them yourself,” he emphasised.

Asked if he would recommend commercial farming to other young Batswana, Mr Makgabenyana said the market is lucrative. “There is BMC, local butcheries and other farmers. One cannot go wrong with cattle farming,” emphasised Mr Makgabenyana.

A beneficiary of the Citizen Entrepreneurship Development Agency’s Young Farmers Fund, Mr Makgabenyana said he was one of the first people to apply for financial assistance from the fund.  He said he never encountered any problems when applying for the fund.

Mr Makgabenyana aknowledges that he enjoys and loves cattle farming more than practising law. He also said he makes more money out of his cattle breeding business than from his law practise.

If he had his way, he would rather be at his farm performing necessary tasks than facing a judge and saying “as the court pleases.”

However, he intends to keep both businesses. ENDS