Jacob Magoro(26) and Engenas Mamabolo (27) from Mentz, Ga Shiloane, Limpopo, South Africa, have established a farming project called Forever Green in 2020.
This after they had noticed the unabated rising of the unemployment rate in the country of which the most affected is the youth.
“We started by farming spinach and as time went by, we added tomatoes beetroots and cabbage and the project grew, The University of Limpopo started sending 3rd year students that were doing Agricultural Economics and Animal Production to our farm to do practical studies”
Jacob Magoro(26) and Engenas Mamabolo (27) from Mentz, Ga Shiloane, Limpopo, South Africa, have established a farming project called Forever Green in 2020. This after they had noticed the unabated rising of the unemployment rate in the country of which the most affected is the youth.
They cited the outbreak of Covid-19 as another aspect that worsened things for them to get job opportunities since companies were retrenching and many people were losing their jobs. That is when they decided to create job opportunities instead of looking for them by starting this beautiful farming project. Both Engenas and Jacob hold the National Diploma in plant production which they obtained from Dzunde Farming Corporate which was under Agri-SITA.
The duo is using the backyard that belongs to Jacob’s grandmother which is about 0,235 hectors. “We started by farming spinach and as time went by, we added tomatoes beetroots and cabbage and the project grew, The University of Limpopo started sending 3rd year students that were doing Agricultural Economics and Animal Production to our farm to do practical studies,” Jacob said.
Late last year Magoro was awarded the Best Farmer of the year Certificate at the Limpopo SMME’s Awards held at the University of Limpopo. They sell their fresh vegetables to individuals, local pre-schools, and local events such as weddings and funerals. At times when the demand exceeds supply they are propelled to hire seasonal workers to assist during harvesting and distributing times.
Just like any other business, Forever Green is not immune to challenges. Jacob said that “Finance is a serious problem since we do not have sponsors or funding. We used stipends that we got from AGRI-SITA to start this project and to sustain it. At times we are unable to afford Pesticides”.
The pair highlighted that lack of water negatively affects their plants. They rely on water which is supplied by the municipal trucks which is not enough for irrigating crops on a regular basis. Jacob said that “The municipal truck comes once or twice in a week and each household is only allowed to come with two 210 drums and inconsistent water supply leads to crop damage.”
Kommentare