How two women turned childhood lessons into farming success

For many young South Africans, success is often associated with office jobs, corporate careers and life in the city.

But for Vhengani Ndou and Petunia Molea, the answer was always in the soil.

Inspired by mothers who spent decades growing tomatoes and vegetables, the two women have transformed childhood memories into thriving agricultural businesses that are now creating jobs and feeding communities.

Ndou, 32, from Muswodi Village in Musina, Limpopo, is the owner of Onay Farming. A farm that employs five permanent employees and around 30 seasonal workers.

Ndou said farming was never an accidental career choice. “When I was growing up, my mother was a farmer, so that’s how I got into it because I saw my mother farming. While we were growing up, she managed to send us to the best schools and provide for us through farming tomatoes and butternuts.

“My mother owned two farms, and I took over when she started getting older and said she couldn’t continue anymore.”

Today, Ndou farms tomatoes but says the journey has been anything but easy. “Even now it’s still not easy. At first, you need to be patient because anything can happen. One of the biggest challenges is natural disasters, which can happen at any time. We had very heavy rainfall this year that damaged a lot of the produce, but we pulled through.”

Like many young entrepreneurs, funding was one of her biggest hurdles. “I applied for an NYDA [National Youth Development Agency] grant, and the grant I received made my day-to-day operations a little bit easier. I did have savings when I started the process; however, they were not enough.”

Before fully committing to agriculture, Ndou qualified and worked as a boilermaker, a profession traditionally dominated by men. “I’ve always loved doing things that people think are meant for men. Boilermaking is a male-dominated field because, even in our class, there were only two girls.

“The technical skills that I learned actually came in handy. Even on the farm, if something needs welding or grinding, I can do it myself.”

Molea, 36, from Gumbu Village near Musina, started her agricultural journey with a small maize garden at home.

Molea’s story mirrors Ndou’s, as she also followed in her mother’s footsteps.

She started small, using financial assistance from her family. “I started with one hectare. I asked for funding from a family member, and one of my brothers assisted me with money to prepare that one hectare.

“The good thing is that after harvesting, I made enough money to expand to two hectares. While working on those two hectares, I managed to make enough money to add another three hectares.”

“Yes, even from a young age because, while growing up, I used to help my mother. The money that was supposed to be my profit was being used to buy electricity and diesel for irrigation on my farm,” she said.

At one stage, she was spending almost R25,000 every month on diesel and electricity.

“When I start harvesting my tomatoes, I hire more than 30 people to help with picking the tomatoes,” she said.

As Youth Month shines a spotlight on opportunities for young people, both women have a simple message.

“I feel that most young people need to understand that they must run their own race, believe in themselves and know that nothing in this world is impossible. As long as you put your mind to it, you’re going to make it,” said Ndou.

Both Ndou and Molea supply Tiger Brands with tomatoes.

Sowetan