When Nontando Thusini was left unemployed after the company she was working for relocated to Gauteng, she started planting vegetables in her backyard.
Thusini, 42, of Pinetown, west of Durban, was left jobless in 2018 after a mechanical engineering company she was working for as a regional manager closed its Durban branch.
She then decided to keep herself busy by planting vegetables in her backyard. The activity helped feed her family and with time the activity turned into a business venture.
“I was not ready to relocate and start a new life in another province. It was not easy to pack up and leave because I still had a young family,” said Thusini.
Thusini said after losing her job, she had to find a way to sustain her family.
“I cleared the backyard and started planting seedlings. I planted peppers, broccoli and cauliflower. The aim was not to start a business but to feed and sustain my family,” said Thusini.
The founder and owner of Elite Crop Fresh Produce said she ventured into business after a manager of a Pick ‘n Pay (PnP) store in Pinetown wanted to order peppers from her.
She said the ceaseless orders she got from PnP made her to turn her farming into a business.
“The backyard I had was small for the demand from Pick ‘n Pay. So I decided to educate myself about larger scale farming. I got an old farmer at New Germany (part of greater Pinetown) to teach me farming,” said Thusini.
Thusini said she officially registered her business in 2019 and managed to get a plot of land to operate her farm from. The land is located in Zwelibomvu, a rural area south of Pinetown.
The Agribusiness Development Agency of the department of agriculture established to support emerging black commercial farmers gave her R3.9m worth of equipment for her farm.
Her farm now has hydroponic tunnels, storage shed, cold room, borehole, generator, open field, irrigation systems, water tanks and an open field. She has 20 employees.
Thusini’s Elite Crop supplies tomatoes, pepper, butternut, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, cucumber, broccoli, green beans, sweet corn and carrots for Oxford fresh market, Saverite, Spar, PnP, Giant Canning and Unilever.
Giant Canning, south of Joburg, helps her to package her canned products such as chakalaka, baked beans and peas.
Thusini said her company plans to launch its own fruit juice brand in the near future.
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