Mathatisi Sebusi
UNLIKE most young people of her age, Mampho Malefane, was never enticed with the prospect of running around depositing her curriculum vitae at various corporate receptions in search of the all too elusive job opportunity in Lesotho’s comatose economy.
Instead Malefane, who is in her mid 30s, wanted to be a master of her own destiny. She thus struck what she calls her life-long partnership with the soil.
And from the soil, she has not only taken charge of her future, her whole community and a lot other farmers now depend on her.
Her determination to rise above the odds and reach the stars have given birth to Neo Seedlings Company, a farming entity operating from Khanyane, Leribe District.
Through her company, Ms Malefane is now a successful farmer renowned for supplying local markets and South African retailers with all kinds of vegetables and seedlings. She also supplies surrounding schools and many street vendors with her produce.
In recognition of the Africa Women’s Month, the Lesotho Times caught up with Ms Malefane, a graduate from the Lesotho Agricultural College (LAC).
Her story is ample testimony to the belief that the country’s sky high unemployment rate can only be tamed if more and more young people opt to be job creators than seekers.
After dropping her CV around without success, she decided to become her own employer by becoming a full time farmer in a sector where only those with a resilient spirit survive.
She is now not only her own boss, she is contributing to the fight against hunger and unemployment. She employs many young people in her business and is imparting valuable farming skills to her community especially the youth.
Raised in a family where farming was a way of life, reaching for the stars in the agricultural sector has always been her dream.
However, before she found her footing, like her peers, she sought employment in both the public and private sectors to no avail.
It was only later when her business was already thriving that she opted to join the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition as an extension officer to primarily continue imparting his skills to others using the government’s expansive insfrastructure.
The beginning was not easy for her in the business world nonetheless.
She started at a very small scale, producing for subsistence purposes, before slowly expanding to become a major producer. She scaled by continuously reinvesting in her business and consolidating land with other farmers to improve hectarage.
She is now counted among a few Basotho women with thriving agricultural enterprises, supplying both the local and South African market with vegetables and seedlings.
Ms Malefane is currently in Japan to learn new farming techniques in this era of climate change. Upon completion of her six month sojourn to Tokyo she hopes to share her newly acquired knowledge with local farmers.
Ms Malefane is one of 11 African participants at the course in Japan.
Speaking to the Lesotho Times this week from Japan, Ms Malefane, said the training was on among others, high quality food production techniques, market accessibility, post-harvest handling methods as well as costing and pricing of produce.
She graduated from LAC in 2010. For a full year she sought employment with no success. She then ventured on her own, starting by planting seedlings at her in-laws’ small plot in Butha Buthe. But due to that year’s prolonged drought, her modest venture failed.
That did not deter her. If anything, it inspired her. She thought of ways of growing vegetables under all weather conditions. She started producing seedlings as well for sharing with others. In all Ms Malefane did, her agricultural qualifications came in handy.
She scaled her farm by consolidating small patches of land into a sizeable operation. She then used her expertise to produce high grade green vegetables, tomatoes and peppers, which different retailers had no problem putting on their shelves. She also got a ready market supplying schools in Butha-Buthe and surrounding communities.
So successful was the project, that she continued to partner with some of her community members to scale the area of production.
While the project generates satisfactory income for her, Ms Malefane says it is also her way of sharing her knowledge with her community, helping members with means to put food on the table, instead of sitting on their laurels and complaining about unemployment.
The partnership with her community members has helped them grow not just as farmers but also as entrepreneurs with skills to run a viable business.
She has since consolidated her operations under Neo Seedlings Company.
With the generous proceeds from her farming business, Ms Malefane says she is making more money than she could ever have anticipated. Like any business person, she is shy to state specific figures.
“What a civil servant earns a month, I make that within a week,” she chuckles.
“Farming has not just become my lifestyle but also my way to empower youths. Multitudes of them come to my home seeking guidance on how they too can succeed in farming.”
That is more important as it means more and more people can create jobs for themselves.
She however noted that like any farmer, she did have bad business days mainly because of the vicissitudes of the weather. Which explains why climate change adaptive farming techniques have become imperative.
Her farming prowess and ability to share knowledge has not gone unnoticed.
The Department of Small Business Development under the trade ministry has noted her efforts. It has since supplied her with farming tools including shades to protect her vegetables from various weather conditions.
“Now worrying about the quality of my produce has become a thing of the past,” Ms Malefane said.
Her burning passion for farming means she always overlooks obstacles in favour of the bigger price.
She believes that in five years’ time, she will be among outstanding women farmers in Lesotho extending her venture to include poultry and dairy products.
Happily married with two children, her passion has rubbed off her family members whom she says now, “see life in the soil”.
“Working hand in hand with my husband towards achieving certain goals, which include ensuring a future and legacy for our children, is among the things that motivate me,’’ she says.
She is also inspired by helping Lesotho’s youths use their hands productively to earn a living.
“Being able to change one’s life for the better is priceless,’’ she concludes.
