A GIANT LEAP FROM SUBSISTENCE TO COMMERCIAL FARMING
A land restitution claim awarded to the Mninwa Community Property Association (CPA) in the small farming town of Bethal in Mpumalanga opened a window of opportunity for Sipho Mthimunye, who quickly grabbed the opportunity to farm. After completing his studies with the Southern African Institute of Welding in Johannesburg in 2004, Sipho had worked for companies like Sasol, Group Five and Steinmüller. Raised in Bethal, he was employed as a quality control officer when he started part-time, small-scale farming on this communal land in 2011.
“My dad ran a small herd of cattle in the township that I looked after. After I started working in 2005, I began to buy my own cattle and I ran them on the same land,” says Sipho. When the Mninwa CPA took over the 1 800ha farm in 2011, some of the beneficiaries (72 families in total) who,
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