By T K Sonjica and Lerato Jabane
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By providing land to Margaret Matshiliso Noge, a 43 year old chicken farmer at Ritchie in the Northern Cape, the Department of Land Affairs has taken her out of her congested backyard to a more conducive environment. The 2002 Farmer of the Year Finalist has been conducting her farming business from her backyard since 1999.
When interviewed by LandNews, Ms Noge said during the Female Farmer of the Year Gala Dinner last year, the DLA Minister, Thoko Didiza had been emphatic that women must own land. At that time she had identified land that she had interest in and thereafter approached the DLA for assistance and got a positive response.
For the land, Ms Noge and four others known as the Noge Poultry Small Farmer’s Trust received 5 hectares for the poultry venture. Ms Noge is the chairperson of the poultry venture.
According to the DLA Project Officer under which Ms Noge’s project falls, Ms Icy Makhubedu, the property is in the process of being registered in the venture’s name. Thereafter, the project will be able to move to the property.
Ms Makhubedu told LandNews that the beneficiaries’ application was approved under the Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development programme. She said the willingness to sell by the land’s previous owner facilitated the government’s initiative to redistribute land to previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa.
Ms Noge is a married mother of four children and her husband is a policeman. Her oldest son is studying at the University of Cape Town.
"When I began the poultry project I was all by myself but it became bigger by the day and I could not cope. This compelled me to involve others. I began it with 50 chicks", she said.
She said they order her chicks from Johannesburg and Bloemfontein. She says they prefer to order one day old chicks and breed them and presently they order 700 chicks at a time every six weeks. At the time LandNews visited her there ware one, two and three week old chicks.
"We sell the chicks locally and Correctional Services at Douglas are giving me a lot of support. They do not order less than 100 at a time", she said.
Ms Noge won the 2002 Top Producer for National Markets Award Competition sponsored by the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, Environment and Conservation. She was also a finalist in the Female Farmer of the Year Competition run by the National Department of Agriculture in recognition of her contribution to economic growth and development through agriculture.
"After my awards last year, business started to boom and I was able to effectively support my family financially. I enjoy being self-reliant and I am proud that my family now no longer relies only on my husband", she said with a smile.
Ms Noge told LandNews that she invested her prize money for her awards in her business and indicated that the move has borne fruit because she has been able to buy a car and a bakkie which are used for the business. She said the quality of life has significantly improved and the fact that she is able to financially assist her son at the University of Cape Town is an indicator to that.
When asked to predict her future, Ms Noge said there are people who have been supporting her in her venture and she hopes to reciprocate that by ploughing back something into her community. Because unemployment is rife in her area, she said this can only be done when she is able to provide employment opportunities for her people.
She stated that she hopes to encourage others to start their own businesses in poultry or other ventures. Because of her empathy with her community, Ms Noge hands out offall to the poor, but she wants this to change so that people do not rely on handouts.
When asked about challenges facing them in their business enterprise, Ms Noge said the worst one was space in her backyard. She said even though she is patient, she thinks that the earlier they move to the farm the better because, a major problem will be solved for them.
She expressed her gratitude to her neighbours who have never complained about her breeding chicks in a residential area. She agreed that if it was not for her neighbours’ co-operation, she would not have succeeded.
"Funds are very limited but I have preferred not to sit down and wait for the unknown. We have approached Eskom and the Department of Agriculture for more funding. They asked for our business plan and I am now waiting for their response", she added.
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Officials of the Department of Health have visited my premises and they encouraged us to seek a bigger space to conduct our business. The land that we have acquired will also be complimentary to their suggestions", she continued.
Ms Noge is always trying to improve her skills. As an example in August 2003 she received a certificate on Farm Management from the Centre for Agricultural Management of the University of the Free State. When she was interviewed by LandNews, she was preparing to attend another course on Poultry Management in Randburg.
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