Piet Phahlane, along with his son, Richard, and Aaron Makena and his sister-in-law, Elizabeth, are business partners of a livestock farming operation on Melkhoutfontein in Rust de Winter near Bela-Bela in Limpopo. They farm cattle, goats and sheep.
The operation was started in 1992 by Phahlane, Makena and his brother, Piet, who has since died and whose share in the business was taken over by his wife, Elizabeth. They began by leasing the land from the then Department of Land Affairs, and now lease it from the newly established Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development.
From the start, their lease agreement has been precarious. Initially, they were able to obtain an agreement for only one year at a time. In 2014, this was extended to three years. According to Phahlane, they have requested a longer lease duration from the department.
“Uncertainty regarding a long-term lease agreement is a detrimental factor to the business as this prevents us from making any investments on the farm as we grow,” he explains.
They have suffered many losses, especially of small stock, due to predation and stock theft. If they could get a longer lease agreement, they would be able to start investing in proper fencing to better protect their animals, he says.
CATTLE BREEDING
The duties of running and managing the farm are shared among the group, but they are still in the process of better defining each person’s role as they formalise their business structure. However, says Phahlane, planning ahead is vital as it ensures that day-to-day operations run smoothly. To this end, meetings are held on a weekly basis. When they first started farming, their commercial herd consisted of mixed-breed cattle, but they later started focusing on Bonsmara and Nguni genetics. Makena says they chose the Bonsmara because of its high-quality beef and its resistance to local diseases.
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