Walking through farms and speaking to many first-generation farmers made me appreciate the uphill battle they face in building their farming enterprises. It is a journey that often goes unnoticed, yet one that deserves far more recognition than it receives.
By Maile Matsimela, digital editor at African Farming
Every time I meet a first-generation farmer, I am reminded that farming is about much more than producing crops or raising livestock. It is about having the courage to build something where nothing existed before.
Many begin their journey without inherited farmland, established infrastructure, family farming networks or generations of agricultural knowledge to guide them. They start with little more than a vision, a willingness to take risks and a determination to create opportunities where none previously existed. That is why I salute them.
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More than a farming business
One of the greatest misconceptions about first-generation farmers is that people often see only the farming operation standing before them. What many fail to see is the journey behind it. Unlike farmers who inherit functioning enterprises, first-generation farmers are often responsible for creating the farm itself. They must secure land, source capital, build infrastructure, establish production systems and develop markets for their products.
They are not simply running farms; they are creating them.
Every fence erected, every livestock handling facility built, every irrigation pipe installed and every hectare brought into production represents a step in a journey that began with little more than a dream.
Building foundations for future generations
Many first-generation farmers spend years building assets before they fully enjoy the rewards.
They improve land that future generations will farm. They establish orchards that may only reach peak production years later. They build breeding herds, poultry operations and crop enterprises that can continue long after they are gone. In many cases, they are creating opportunities that never existed within their families before.
That is why success should not always be measured only by annual profits or production figures. Sometimes success is found in the foundations being laid.
Sometimes success is found in creating opportunities where none existed before.
And sometimes success is found in ensuring the next generation starts from a better position than the previous one.
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Why supporting them matters
While I acknowledge that farming is ultimately a private business, and that farmers, like all entrepreneurs, must take risks, make difficult decisions and build sustainable enterprises, we should also recognise and credit them for carrying a responsibility that extends far beyond individual business success.
When a farmer succeeds, the benefits reach far beyond the farm gate.
Agriculture contributes to food security, creates jobs, supports rural economies and stimulates activity throughout the value chain. Farmers support transporters, input suppliers, processors, retailers and countless other businesses that depend on agricultural production. Most importantly, they help ensure that South Africans have food on their tables. This is why the success of first-generation farmers matters to all of us.
An investment in South Africa’s future
When funding institutions, agribusinesses, development agencies and government programmes support first-generation farmers, they are not simply helping an individual entrepreneur. They are investing in future productive capacity. The founder may one day pass on, but the farm can remain.
The orchards can continue producing fruit. The livestock enterprise can continue supplying meat. The fields can continue producing grain. Future generations can continue building on foundations laid by those who came before them.
In that sense, many first-generation farmers are helping build part of South Africa’s future food production capacity. Their success today can contribute to food security for decades to come. That is why support for first-generation farmers should never be viewed as charity but as an investment in economic growth, food security and rural development.
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Meeting farmers halfway
None of this means the journey should be easy. Farming has never been easy, and no amount of support can replace hard work, discipline, resilience and sound management. First-generation farmers must still make sacrifices, learn difficult lessons and overcome setbacks along the way.
But where there is commitment, determination and a genuine desire to build something lasting, we should do everything possible to meet them halfway. Because ultimately, all of us have a stake in their success.
We may never own those farms. But we will eat the food they produce. We will benefit from the jobs they create. We will benefit from the economic activity they generate. And we will benefit from the stronger and more food-secure South Africa they help build.
Every farming legacy begins with someone willing to take the first step. For many farms across South Africa today, that person is a first-generation farmer. And for that, they deserve our respect, our recognition and our salute.
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