The littered, potholed municipal road leading to Gladys 'Nana' Towbola's farm near Irene, Gauteng, could not be in sharper contrast to the smoothly run small-scale poultry operation and its dynamic owner. Towbola was born in Nigeria 44 years ago, but has called South Africa home for the past 32 years. For the past 13 of those she has been running her poultry business, Peezel Farms, where she sells day-old chicks, broilers, and eggs. She has also trained over 500 small-scale farmers.
"In the 1980s, my father, who's a gynaecologist, was invited to open a practice in South Africa, and the family moved here," she explains.
After matriculating, Towbola obtained a degree in Animal Science at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, and also completed a few courses in business management. An entrepreneur by nature, she went on to run several small businesses such as a hair salon and an Internet café, while simultaneously starting a family.
Her passion for agriculture never left her, however, and in 2009, she finally received her chance to begin farming when her husband, Prosper Momabahgan, bought the land near Irene for her.
"I received no government support and I believe this was one of the reasons I succeeded. I had to work hard for everything I have today."
She does, however, enjoy excellent support from her husband, who is lecturer of electrical engineering at the Vaal University of Technology and oversees many of the farming activities for her. "This helps free me up to host workshops for other smallscale growers every two to three weeks."
Though poultry production is Peezel Farms' main focus, the couple also run a few cattle and goats.
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