Africa-Press – Lesotho. The 32 year old Pontšo Hlaele of Thabaneng says farming has transformed her life in ways she did not expect. Hlaele has been in the pig and egg production for the past six years and has made a
considerable profit from it. Informative Newspaper had an exclusive interview with Hlaele who disclosed that she started her farming business by rearing 50 broilers in 2014 with capital she
received from her parents who were crop farmers. “The business did so well that I even resigned from a good paying job to focus solely on my business which was
always compromised,” she said. In an effort to build a lasting empire, Hlaele registered the business in 2017 under her father’s company, Hlaele Farming
Enterprise and added more livestock (broilers and bushveld chickens) and started rearing pigs. “My commitment and perseverance yielded great improvements
and I am now able to meet my everyday needs,” Hlaele observed. “I currently sells eggs to schools, shops, and sometimes Chinese supermarkets although Chinese are a bit difficult as they
insist on buying at very low prices and as a result I end up incurring losses,” she stated. She however indicated that the extreme challenges that emerge as a
result of the prevailing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has left her with Chinese shops as her only option. “People are faced with dire financial struggles,
schools are closed and the whole business sector is suffering enormously,” Hlaele said. Apart from chickens, she has five pigs, a pig boar that she rents to other farmers for breeding, and three pigeons which
produce piglets that she sells to individuals, farmers and restaurants (chisanyama). She also added that she started making dried fruits earlier this year to increase her income streams.
Hlaele further encouraged women to get involved in farming. “I can assure you, you do not need to have a lot of money to start. Yes, there are challenges but I urge all of you not to give up,” she
said. While farming is essential for commercial purposes, research has also shown that women have an exclusive responsibility of providing food for families.
According to Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) researches, in Africa 80% of the agricultural production comes from small farmers who are mostly women and this is because female farmers play a vital role in food production and food security, as such, they are the backbone of the development of rural and national economies.
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