Fed up with his call centre job, Loyiso Manga set his sights on becoming one of SA's first black olive oil producers.
He struggled to buy a farm because he could not secure funding, but eventually found a partner who supplies him with olive oil that he blends into his own signature product.
Manga's brand has started to take off, with bottles of his olive oil stocked by upmarket retailer Woolworths.
He wants to see more support from government so he can grow his business into one that will last for generations.
“There are a lot of us who come from my position who want access to land,” Manga told Reuters. “We don't have a warehouse or a farm, but that just goes to prove the market is there.”
The Western Cape, with its Mediterranean climate, is ideal for olive farming. However, it is a capital intensive process, with farmers needing to wait four to five years before their olive trees produce the yield needed for a harvest.
An agriculture ministry spokesperson said government was allocating land to emerging farmers, but she did not respond to questions about state support for emerging olive oil farmers specifically.
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