Dimpho Xaba, an agricultural lecturer at Tshwane University of Technology, developed a love for farming at a young age as he grew up in the farming town of Brits, North West. Today, he farms wheat, maize, beans, potatoes and bees in Pretoria North and is committed to empowering others in the field of agriculture. In conversation with Lebogang Mashala, Dimpho reflects on how his childhood experiences influenced his career path.
As a child, Dimpho Xaba eagerly anticipated taking the bus or taxi from his village of Maboloka to Brits in North West. He enjoyed seeing the vast greenery under irrigation on farms along the route into town. However, it wasn’t until he was in high school that he fully grasped the significance of these fields.
It was only then that he realised they supplied most of the food for his community and beyond. Dimpho’s interest in agriculture was sparked. “In high school, I planted my first food garden in my backyard,” he says.
Today, Dimpho is not only a farmer but an agricultural lecturer at Tshwane University of Technology. He specialises in teaching vegetable production and mentors third-year students completing work-integrated learning.
Dimpho grew up in Brits, a town noted for its agricultural activities, including horticulture, livestock and fruit production, with citrus being dominant. Most crop farming in Brits is done under irrigation, which relies on a channel from the Hartbeespoort dam.
When Dimpho finished his studies and decided on a career in agriculture, many of his friends were surprised. At the time, he says, most youth viewed agriculture as a profession reserved for whites.
Dimpho pursued a national diploma in crop production in 2009. Seeking experiential learning, he approached his first mentor, Douglas Mfolo, who was the TUT farm manager. Douglas arranged his placement at the TUT farm, where Dimpho worked until graduating in 2011.
After completing his training, Dimpho secured a job in the university’s international office. A few years later, Prof Prince Ngobeni, executive dean of the faculty of science, offered him the opportunity to enrol in his master’s programme. “Professor Ngobeni recognised that my potential was being underutilised in office work while I excelled in my field. During the same period, Mr Mfolo invited me to work with him at the farm,” says Dimpho. He worked under Douglas until he completed his master’s degree in 2020, then he started lecturing, first part-time and later full-time.
Although Dimpho enjoyed his job, the land kept calling. He and four friends started a company, Thusanang Bakone Group, and began applying for a farm. In April 2022, they were installed as caretakers of their farm, and in September they signed a 30-year lease. The farm previously produced maize seed under irrigation for Corteva. “It was a big adjustment for me to operate a centre pivot after being used to drip and sprinkler irrigation,” says Dimpho.
The farm has 136 hectares, of which 51ha are arable and under irrigation. Each of the three centre pivots covers between 16ha and 22ha. Dimpho says it was challenging at the beginning. They had no money, many things needed fixing, and Eskom cut off their electricity supply due to unpaid bills. “Since this is an irrigation farm, we cannot operate without electricity. The only things we had when we came here were a few rands and an old bakkie,” he says.
To restore the power, they had to negotiate with Eskom about a debt of R231,000 on the farm’s three transformers. Dimpho says Eskom regulations require the owner of the property to have an account, and in this case that is the government.
“But because we are on the farm and use electricity, the department is not prepared to take responsibility for the account, as they do not want to be held liable in the event we default or do not pay,” Dimpho explains. Although power was restored, the situation is unresolved, and Dimpho says this situation is typical of the reasons black tenants fail on land reform farms. “There are just too many hurdles for beginners, and if you are not resilient, you’ll give up and leave the farm,” he says.
Then Dimpho and his colleagues faced a new challenge. “Our small funds were spent on fixing electricity issues and we had no money for production,” he says. They approached the farm’s previous owner and proposed partnering with him, and he agreed. By collaborating with him, they obtained contracts to produce potatoes for McCain Foods and maize seed for Corteva. They planted 34ha of potatoes and 19.5ha of maize seeds. “We planted last August and harvested this year.” The first potato harvest was not good because of a disease outbreak.
Their partnership with the previous owner also ended and they were back to square one. Dimpho, however, had some networks that came in handy. “I had met some young farmers from Apies River who were willing to help. They came on board and helped us plant wheat this year,” he says.
They planted the wheat in May and expect to harvest it in October. As preparation, Dimpho says they used herbicides to eliminate weeds before using a disk harrow. “Because we didn’t want to disturb the soil too much, we only disked and then broadcast the wheat.” After the newly planted fields were irrigated, liquid nitrogen fertilizer was applied to boost germination. Dimpho says wheat is not a labour-intensive crop but requires water. “We irrigate about 48 hours a week. As a result of load-shedding, one can imagine the challenges. In most cases we must work at night because electricity is usually available during off-peak hours.” Dimpho says with centre pivots, it is vital to monitor and make sure everything is working properly.
To maintain the business, Dimpho and his colleagues had to plant wheat as a winter crop. “We had a bad first crop of potatoes, and because we couldn’t wait for summer production, wheat was an obvious choice,” he says. This decision was also influenced by the war in Ukraine. “The wheat looks promising, and we anticipate a healthy harvest and a favourable price because of the war. Since there are issues involved with the movement of grain in that region, it affects availability and therefore the prices here.”
Dimpho says they’ll need a follow-up crop after harvesting the wheat. Due to the farm’s location near the township (Hammanskraal), theft is a big issue. “We have to repair fences all the time because the community often collects wood on the farms. As a result, we are limited in our options when it comes to summer crops. To prevent theft, we need crops that cannot be easily stolen, such as beans and maize. Soybeans make more sense,” says Dimpho.
He admits he has a lot to learn. “It was my first time working with a centre pivot. I’m used to small sprinkler and dripper pumps, so encountering such an operation was challenging,” he explains.
According to him, farming is impossible without relationships. He lacks equipment such as tractors, implements and harvesters, and says the high cost of these items makes it nearly impossible for smallholder farmers to survive without meaningful relationships.
Dimpho emphasises the importance of diversifying a farming operation. He says he wouldn’t have survived without his beekeeping, which he started in 2019 after a workshop sparked his interest. Dimpho began by buying eight hives with the help of a sponsor. “I placed the boxes near the Bon Accord Dam on a farm in Pretoria North. There were a lot of blue gum trees on the farm, which produces eucalyptus,” says Dimpho.
Eucalyptus honey is a premium product, and he made a good profit from the original boxes. Because the farm is near a dam and therefore has a lot of water, the trees were green throughout winter and the bees produced a lot of honey. Since then, he has increased his hives to 160 in Pretoria North and Mpumalanga, and they produce 800kg of honey per harvest.
“In eucalyptus areas, where trees bloom in winter, we collect honey at least twice a year. In areas without eucalyptus, we collect honey only once.” In these areas, he says he is careful not to harvest in winter since the bees are not as active and don’t forage much. “We either harvest early in May or late in August.” Through a National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) programme, he has already sold 400kg this season. Dimpho sells propolis and wax to other processors. “We are currently building a micro-processing plant on the farm to process more honey for ourselves and other beekeepers in Tshwane.”
Dimpho says the farm has potential for diversification because plenty of land is available. “The plan is to include layers, vegetables and maybe aquaponics since we have plenty of water. One day I plan to work full-time on the farm because it is difficult to do both. Besides, partnerships will not last forever.”
