Dibesho said the farm produces between 40 and 50 tonnes per season.
He said their biggest challenge is having to do everything manually.
“The challenges that we face are that of speed and quality — we should be doing over 100 tonnes per season. The main reason for this is that everything is done manually. We have a speed challenge in the application of fertilisers, the speed in the packing as well as core protection units like nets, which we don’t have. So we are losing a lot of stock on the trees because of the adverse weather conditions. When there is rain and hail we lose. There is also an issue of birds.”
However, Dibesho says it is all worth it.
“Fruit production is potentially a very lucrative space. Where we are right now is the beginning of where I am trying to take this farm to. We want to get to a point where we will be exporting our fruit.”
Dibesho explained that the 15ha is divided into 10ha for fruit tree production with vegetable production on the other five hectares to sustain employment during the fruit off-season.
The 10ha has a capacity for 25,000 peach trees under production.
The produce is due for harvest in October and November.
Serage said her defining moment was when she won an award for best woman smallholder farmer in 2017.
“I am very proud because through that we could approach the market with the achievement to prove that we are working and doing something. When we took our samples, everybody was happy and after getting the fruit we approached so many people and we were welcomed. People heard that we did it. We showed them the achievement and when they looked at it they felt we might be the right people. I am so happy because at the end of the day I am supplying all these people without any fear. I am proud,” she said.
When she is not farming, Serage serves as a minister at a Lutheran church and performs pastoral work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
She shares the dream of being able to export their produce.
“I am working towards improving my community, province and improving South Africa,” she said.
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'I am working to improve my community, province and SA': Pension investment leads to farming success
A former teacher and principal who took a leap of faith by establishing a peach orchard with her pension payout a decade ago has carved out a new career — and landed supermarket deals that have helped expand the business.
The now 70-year-old Rev Mokgobedi Makgethoa Serage found a new home in agriculture when she retired in 2011. She founded the Ground Stone Group in Zebediela, Lepelle-Nkumpi, in Limpopo.
“I invested it all in the project with the belief that I would be paid back the money by the farm instead of keeping it in the bank. I thought it wise because it is going to be something that is going to last forever, and that will be growing,” she said.
Serage works with her son Dibesho Serage, 42, who is the farm's general manager.
“It was a bit tough. We had planted all those trees but we realised the trees are troubled by insects, and sun-natural disasters. We are also challenged by hail, strong winds and strong rains. All that is disturbing,” she said.
An ongoing challenge is a lack of equipment as they have to spray, thin and harvest manually. The same applies to packing, sorting, dividing and labelling.
“We do 25,000 trees manually — tree by tree. It’s so hard. We need a tractor to help us to run around and maybe a spray on our backs. In harvesting, we don’t have a packing house, so we made a stall big enough for us to handle it. We hire about five extra people to join the eight employees we have to pick and bring it to the stall. We need to sort peaches by colour and size” said Serage.
When she started, the Lebowakgomo resident had two hectares of land, which was later extended to 15 hectares under cultivation.
The mother-and-son partnership has secured deals with retailers including Pick n Pay and Woolworths supplying nectarines and peaches.
Dibesho said the farm produces between 40 and 50 tonnes per season.
He said their biggest challenge is having to do everything manually.
“The challenges that we face are that of speed and quality — we should be doing over 100 tonnes per season. The main reason for this is that everything is done manually. We have a speed challenge in the application of fertilisers, the speed in the packing as well as core protection units like nets, which we don’t have. So we are losing a lot of stock on the trees because of the adverse weather conditions. When there is rain and hail we lose. There is also an issue of birds.”
However, Dibesho says it is all worth it.
“Fruit production is potentially a very lucrative space. Where we are right now is the beginning of where I am trying to take this farm to. We want to get to a point where we will be exporting our fruit.”
Dibesho explained that the 15ha is divided into 10ha for fruit tree production with vegetable production on the other five hectares to sustain employment during the fruit off-season.
The 10ha has a capacity for 25,000 peach trees under production.
The produce is due for harvest in October and November.
Serage said her defining moment was when she won an award for best woman smallholder farmer in 2017.
“I am very proud because through that we could approach the market with the achievement to prove that we are working and doing something. When we took our samples, everybody was happy and after getting the fruit we approached so many people and we were welcomed. People heard that we did it. We showed them the achievement and when they looked at it they felt we might be the right people. I am so happy because at the end of the day I am supplying all these people without any fear. I am proud,” she said.
When she is not farming, Serage serves as a minister at a Lutheran church and performs pastoral work on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
She shares the dream of being able to export their produce.
“I am working towards improving my community, province and improving South Africa,” she said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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