Joining hands to keep the land productive – the case of Brookside Farm, Kokstad
Brookside Farm was bought by government from the Van Niekerk family in Kokstad some 14 years ago and entrusted to the care of the previous employees on the farm. They had a tough time maintaining productivity on the farm as they lacked the capital to purchase the inputs needed to grow a crop and being tenants and not owners, were not able to apply for a loan. Although having spent many years on the farm employed in various capacities, they also lacked the expertise to manage the farm successfully on their own.
In 2019, they were informed by government that they needed to increase the productivity of the farm or risk losing it. At this point they approached son of the former owner and local businessman, Mr Jed Van Niekerk, for assistance. Understanding the challenge they were faced with and wanting to help, Mr Van Niekerk in turn approached HGA Vice-Chairperson, Mr Rory Bryden to discuss the feasibility of a tripartite agreement between the three parties to ensure progress on the farm was achieved.
In 2020 Mr Van Niekerk, who is an agricultural contractor by trade, agreed to do the land preparation, planting and harvesting of 56 Ha of maize and Mr Bryden agreed to cover the cost of the inputs. Mr Bryden would then buy the maize back from them which he believed would be a win-win arrangement, assisting Brookside Farming with a market and getting around the obstacle of them not having a storage facility for the maize once harvested.
A good yield was obtained in the first year such that last year Brookside Farming were able to cover a fair portion of the input costs with the profits earned. Mr Bryden covered the balance of the input costs and Mr Van Niekerk assisted once more with the mechanisation and mentorship. Brookside Farm have developed a good team with Mrs Cecelia Qokela and Mrs Elizabeth Nonjingo taking responsibility for the planning and day to day management and liaising with Mr Van Niekerk and Mr Bryden on this. Mr Zuko Qokela manages the crop and has performed the tasks of implementing the spray programme and fertilizer application. He believes he has benefited a lot from the mentorship received saying “I’ve learnt a lot about the application of chemicals and fertilizer rates and appreciate the knowledge the farmers are sharing with me and the training I have received.”
Mrs Nonjingo has also gained much from being involved in the administration of the farm and offered the following advice to other upcoming commercial farmers: “you’ve got to be committed. You’ve got to pay attention to all the detail. You’ve got to have good record keeping so that there are no issues with mismanagement of funds and everything is clear and transparent.
Mr Reggie Mchunu of Pannar Seed, visited Brookside earlier this year and was very impressed with the quality of the maize crop and the accomplishments of this alliance between the established and upcoming commercial farmers. Pannar Seed have subsequently agreed to donate sufficient maize seed to plant 50 Ha this season; an incredibly generous offer and enormous cost saver for Brookside Farming. Mr Van Niekerk’s statement during our interview with him, sums up the essence of the success achieved thus far: “it’s about partnerships, about family and about supporting one another and making sure it works. We all stand to benefit.”
Mr Jed Van Niekerk and Mrs Cecelia Qokela at Brookside Farm