This Article first appeared in FarmingSA issue #7 March 2008 (pdf link) and has been formatted for web viewing by Agristart.

Former diesel mechanic Stephen Matsididi regards farming as a business that must generate a profit. A friend and confidant, Cois Harman, tells us about Stephen’s route to success and disappointments along the way.

Menyatso Stephen Matsididi is a smart farmer. He’s a trained diesel mechanic and auto-electrician and as a result his tractors and other farming implements are always in tip-top condition. He has, however, developed a strategy to replace them every five years. “Then I can still get a good price for the old tractor and the difference between the old one and the new one is not that much. The new one will definitely not cause problems during the peak season,” he explains. That is a very interesting statement coming from a man who has the skills to maintain and service his own tractors, yet prefers working with new ones.

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 This Article first appeared in FarmingSA issue January 2008 (pdf link) and has been formatted for web viewing by Agristart.

Ponki Makinita decided early in life to invest his monthly salary in cattle rather than in a bank. Today he breeds cattle and grows crops in the Marico bushveld of South Africa’s North West province. He told his story to PHIRI BOSIGO.

Working as a truck driver in Johannesburg in 1969, Ponki Makinita bought his first cow with moneyhe received in his first pay packet. Initially his father helped him by looking after his cattle. By 1977 he had already purchased almost 100 head of cattle and had come to the conclusion that he would get nowhere if he were to continue farming on communal land. He found and hired a farm from a white farmer, and relocated his stock. Makinita also invested in quality bulls and cows to improve his herd.

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This Article Apeared in Farming SA issue Decemeber 2007 (pdf link) has been formatted for web viewing by Agristart.

When a go-getter entrepreneur bought an ox to celebrate his business achievements, he fell head over heels in love with the beautiful heifers he saw on the farm and decided he would breed cattle himself. Four years later, he has another success story to tell.

Abel Naphtaly is a dreamer, but a dreamer with a difference – he has ability to make his dreams become reality. And he is so determined to achieve his goals that he ends up living his dreams. Once he has considered all the factors that could influence the outcome, he moves into action with everything at his disposal to realise the dream that makes life meaningful to him.

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