Situated on the border of the Gauteng and Northwest province, lies the small district of Kromkuil. It is here where Kgothatso Masupye has turned a life-long passion into a viable business. This South African woman in agriculture is growing her enterprise from a family subsistence farm to a successful roleplayer in her community and beyond.
“I caught the bug from watching my parents and grandparents farm with cattle and maize,” Kgothatso smiles, remembering that her love of agriculture started young. She grew up in a village where most families, including her own, had cattle kraals. Cattle would be heard in the bush on the daily.
Today, however, her agribusiness, K&K Countryside, is an integrated value chain that consists of a production heard that produces cattle for the feedlot, and ultimately moves to the butchery.
“I am a lawyer by profession and a farmer by way of generational observation and teachings,” she explains. “I say by way of generational teachings and observation because while I grew up, I was given tasks to assist. This included running errands, like going to buy ear tags and supplements from the local Obaro.
Kgothatso believes it was just a matter of time before she completely surrendered to the agriculture bug. “Even during my studies, prior to graduating with my law degree, my love for farming grew. By the time I graduated with my law degree, the love and interest in growing organics had already been instilled. My interest in agriculture inspired my desire to specialise in Agriculture and food law, as well as environmental law.”
Turning Farming From Subsistence to Business
For this South African woman in agriculture, farming had to take a different approach than when she was a child. In fact, it had to become a business that focuses on profit, outcome and growth.
“The elders (our grandparents and parents) in the village where I grew up did not have a vast understanding of how far their cattle farming business could go. They never developed it to go beyond mere selling of cattle amongst each other and the neighbourhood in preparation for an event. Yet, the quality of the meat was not the same as the meat my parents sold at the butchery.
This difference in taste made Kgathatso curious. “I started researching the feedlot process, and shared what I had learnt about feedlot production systems with my parents. My parents were open to trying it out,” she elaborates. “We then consulted with relevant professionals in this regard and that’s when we transformed from being a cattle seller to feedlot production.”
Any Business Has Challenges
During the course of her agricultural journey, financing has been one of the biggest challenges.
“Agriculture is financially demanding,” she points out. Kgathatso recalls the issues they experienced with the borehole when we started. “We urgently had to fix it, because the farm cannot operate without water. Unfortunately it collapsed during our attempts to fix it and we operated without a borehole for over eight months. Repairing the collapsed borehole needed financing and we had to save up for it. At the same time, we had to pay for a water tank to supply us with water weekly.”
The total weekly cost for the tanker was exponentially higher than the quote to repair the borehole, but lacking the lump sum to be paid immediately for the reconstruction meant that they had no choice.
Another hurdle that Kgathatso and her family had to cross was the injury to a brand new bull they acquired when the animal was severely injured. “It was our biggest investment at that time. We had bought it on instalment arrangements with the seller,” Kgothatso says. “We had the bull for a week when its knee got severely injured and it had to undergo surgery. The vet had no hope for it. They advised that we put it down, because it will not recover and would not be able to mount anymore.”
This was devastating news at the time. “That was a huge blow and, made us sad and depressed. Thankfuly, the bull was nursed to recovery and it is now doing well.”
She notes that in agriculture, this is always the risk with livestock. “We’ve also recently had to prematurely send cattle to the abattoir because of an injury.”
Continuously Moving Forward
In spite of the challenges, having a passion for her agribusiness means that Kgothatso keeps looking towards the future and improving business.
“My profession as a lawyer has an impact on agribusiness in that I understand the importance of formalising every little thing. Those are things that my parents and grandparents overlooked when they started, this contributed to the cause of delay in the business growth.
“I also have more exposure to platforms that impart knowledge than the previous generations,” she remarks.
In the future, she plans to use 7 hectares of the farm to plant peppers and lucerne. “The peppers will be distributed to supermarkets and markets. We’ll feed our own cattle with the lucern and any remaining harvests will be sold to other cattle farmers around the neighbourhood.”
Kgothatso also mentions that being a small business owner in the agricultural sector has highlights too. “The fact that you have to be hands-on is a highlight to me. It requires personal involvement that makes you cognisant of all your achievements. Even if it’s something small, you will quickly take note and find joy in it.
“That’s a very beautiful feeling. What makes it beautiful is that you have endured all the big hurdles and still you reach these tiny achievements by overcoming huge obstacles.”
Her advice to other aspiring entrepreneurs and women looking to enter agriculture in South Africa, is to understand that growth is a process. “Don’t force the process and never lose hope because sometimes that’s the only thing you would have in this tough field,” she concludes.
