How Sinelizwi Fakade Found Success In Farming At The Age Of 29. The South African economy receives a huge contribution to its overall turnover from the Agriculture industry. This industry has been what many South Africans rely on as a source of income and food. The industry has seen a lot of changes since the dawn of democracy as more black farmers are now entering the industry, making the industry have diverse views and ideas on how to solve the problems it is facing. Sinelizwi Fakade is a young black farmer that seeks to improve the farming conditions of small scale farmers. While working for Grain SA Fakade managed to help 3500 farmers plant 3000ha of maize. Fakade wanted to pursue his dream of farming so he went on a quest to secure funding so that he can start growing his own crops, he managed to secure the funding and today he plants around 1000ha.
Fakade went on to seek help from his friend and mentor Rob Farrington to assist him with his dream of becoming a commercial farmer. Farrington is considered to be a pioneer in the farming industry as he pioneered irrigation farming in Ugie, Eastern Cape. “I practically grew up on Rob’s farm and learnt everything I know from him… getting back from boarding school, I would drop off my bags at home and immediately get into my work clothes and head here. I would wake up at 4am and help with whatever had to be done-rain, shine or snow. Here I learnt the hard yards of farming.” said Fakade in an interview with African Farming.
After completing his matric, he enrolled at Cedara College of Agriculture in KwaZulu-Natal and obtained a diploma in agriculture, after that, he went to Nelson Mandela University (NMU) where he pursued his BTech in Agricultural Management. Upon completion, he went on to do his Bachelor of Agriculture Honours degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN. Fakade shows that he did not just wait for success to come his way but he rather worked hard for it from a young age.
Farrington allowed Fakade to use his Rocky Park farm in 2019 without needing any prior payment, Fakade did not waste any time and began to plant maize, sorghum, soya beans and millet. The harvest of that season was a success that he was able to pay Farrington for the farm.
“Agriculture is in my blood, growing up in rural areas, we had to do everything as young boys, from herding cows to ploughing in the fields. In that way, agriculture has always been a part of my life. As cliché, as it may sound, but I think it’s safe to say that agriculture chose me.” said Fakade in an interview with Agri Eastern Cape.
