20 Aug 2020

Mr Ofentse Moremedi, a small scale farmer in the outskirts of Taung village, is determined to build a piggery farm out of nothing.

The self-employed and self-funded, Ramotswa native, lives with the sleeves of his garments rolled back working hard to have Offy’s Farm, running profitably in the not too distant future.

 “I was turned down by financiers, but because I believed so much in this project, I had to finance it from my pocket,” he disclosed during a recent interview.

Mr Moremedi’s passion for farming started around 2015, when he purchased a one and half hectare farm to start a horticultural project.

Convinced that his business plan was a master manual, the Kagiso Senior Secondary School class of 2000 graduate, proceeded to drill a borehole, but, somehow luck eluded him.

 “I could not get enough water to convince potential financiers,” he said in disappointment, however, the dreamer that is Mr Moremedi refused to give up, but sought and pondered and during his moments of reflection, he conceived the idea of starting a piggery farm, after noticing a gap in the country’s pork supply.

He noted that the country imported the bulk of its pork from neighbouring South Africa, because there are few local industry players.

 “I self-taught myself piggery farming industry, remember I wanted horticulture but because of the water challenge, I had to divert,” he confessed.

Having amassed enough knowledge, Mr Moremedi said he bought ten piglets to venture into the new territory, and soon, he realised that he was overly ambitious and he had to sell some to keep the farm going.

 To date, the venture, which started last year, has about 32 pigs, with two sows already pregnant.

He said the other piglets have been earmarked to start the breeding process as he planned to expand.

Serious about writing his own script on piggery farming locally, Mr Moremedi said he was not deterred by the mere fact that some of his predecessors had failed and closed shops.

“You have to have passion for what you are doing, not only getting in to make money,” he warned.

 He said his unrelenting efforts of putting up more structures at the farm was a clear indication of his confidence in the project, adding that the under construction structure should be able to accommodate over 1 200 pigs upon completion.

 As he takes one step at a time to his apex, Mr Moremedi is cautious not to be snared into a wasteful lifestyle, but remain focused and spend every thebe he makes to grow Offy’s Farm into a reputable business.

 “I have to be slow in the process because of money,” he said.

 In his own assessment, he has already done most of what the financiers would require, hence he was hopeful that the new revised CEDA guideline would tip the scale to his side when he eventually approaches the financier for assistance.

It is his believe that with the right business acumen, local piggery farming could be a money spinner due to the availability of the market. He pointed out that feeding costs and access to funding have remained his biggest challenges.

Apart from pig farming, Mr Moremedi also keeps goats, chickens and grows vegetables.

 

He said the farm currently has two permanent workers and he hires causal labourers as and when the need arises. BOPA