After playing a significant role in corporate South Africa, Dr Reuel Khoza, former chairperson of Nedbank and Eskom, decided to turn his focus back to his roots in the farming sector. He spoke to Lindi Botha about practical transformation and taking hands with commercial farmers.
At the age of 68 and with six business books and a PhD behind him, Reuel Khoza has turned his attention to his original passion: farming. As the owner of the second largest avocado pack house in South Africa, Koeltehof Packers in Kiepersol, Mpumalanga, he has started a new career when most people would be retiring.
Investing in South Africa’s fast-growing avocado industry, previously unknown to him, he fell back on his father’s wisdom.
“He taught me that when in a new situation, exercise ‘intelligent ignorance’. This means you position yourself as a learner and absorb everything you can.”
RETURNING TO FARMING
Khoza grew up in Bushbuckridge, just outside Hazyview in Mpumalanga. His grandfather owned a small herd of cattle and he and his cousins alternated herding duties with school.
“My grandfather saw potential in me, so I began to go to school full-time. But the love of farming was already instilled in me.”
He tells how he always slows down when driving past cattle on trips to the Lowveld with the family. “They get so irritated with me. I tell them I’m admiring the cattle. So when I turned 60, my wife bought me a Boran heifer, and a new career in farming was born.” Khoza has since expanded his herd to 400 head on a farm in Machadodorp, near Mbombela.
In 2007, he began looking for a farm in the Lowveld that would also be the family home. As a result, he was shown Koeltehof farm.
“The investment was a bit of a stretch. But when my granddaughter saw the Wendy house in the yard, she pulled me aside and said, ‘Umkhulu, buy it!’”
Khoza’s philosophy is: first make it work, then survive, then prosper. Since acquiring the farm he has increased the area under orchards by 50% and the pack house capacity five-fold.
ACQUIRING KOELTEHOF
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 13 July 2018-Ausgabe von Farmer's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der 13 July 2018-Ausgabe von Farmer's Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
