Newsroom

By Zwi Maphiri and Matsobane Manaka

As part of Women’s Month Celebration, MEC Nakedi Kekana launched “Basadi Temong” under the theme “Building Resilient Economies For All” on behalf of the Premier Dr Phophi Ramathuba at Nakedi Poultry Farm, Ga-Mabuela, Mogalakwena Local Municipality.

Nakedi Poultry Farm runs by a young female farmer, Itumeleng Mahwete. A 32-year-old Internal Auditing Diploma graduate from Vaal University of Technology, found herself in agricultural space after grappling to secure work.

Soon after graduating from Buhle’s Farmers Academy, Mahwete could not look back. She established a poultry project operating in two thriving commodities – a hatchery producing day-old chicks and a broiler production unit. The hatchery has a capacity of 3,440 chicks per cycle, while the farm also runs eight poultry houses, each housing 1,000 birds. Every week, the farm produces around 1,000 broiler chickens.

Mahwete personally funded the infrastructure of her farm. The Limpopo Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (LDARD) supported her with production inputs, and today this farm provides jobs to five permanent workers, five seasonal employees, and one student on experiential training. It actively participates in the broiler value chain, showing that women are not just farm workers, but farm owners, innovators, and employers.

Her commitment further gained recognition and support from the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which won her a Hollywood Bambelela Business Award of 2024 which celebrates women entrepreneurs.

In her statement of support upon her launch, MEC Kekana said, “when a woman tills the soil, she does not just plant seeds, she plants hope, she cultivates resilience, and she harvests the future. We meet here today at Nakedi Poultry Farm, led by a young woman of courage and vision, as we continue to celebrate Basadi Temong - a programme that uplifts and empowers women to take their rightful place in agriculture”.

“This gathering is not just about poultry farming; it is about women taking charge of their destinies, shaping their communities, and feeding the nation.

“Agriculture is the lifeblood of our rural economy, the foundation of food security, and the backbone of community stability. Statistics show that women constitute nearly half of the agricultural workforce and in some regions of Africa, as high as 80 percent. They are the ones who rise before dawn to fetch water, feed their families, tend to livestock, plant crops, and sell produce in markets often without recognition, without land rights, without fair pay, and without adequate support. This is not only unjust but irrational. It undermines our economic potential. Because when women are excluded, half of our nation’s potential is wasted. 

“Our President, His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, once reminded us: “When we empower women, we empower a nation. When we educate women, we educate a nation. When we support women in enterprise, we support the economic future of our nation.” Those are not just words of inspiration; they are words of strategy. They remind us that investing in women is not charity, but it is the smartest investment we can make in our economy”.