Keep going even when the going gets tough

Published: 1 July 2025

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As chairperson of the Amsterdam study group, Boy Zakew Nzimande (56) is mostly responsible for providing fellow study group members with information about general agricultural practices and keeping them up to date regarding the meetings and events within the farmer development programme. Boy is one of the 2025 nominees in the Potential Commercial Farmer of the Year category of Grain SA’s Farmer of the Year competition.

This passionate farmer followed in his father’s footsteps and became a farm worker on the same farm in the Piet Retief area where his father worked. When he exchanged rural life for city life, he worked in Johannesburg across several industries, including health and safety, and mining. He later opened his own business, Nzimande Hygiene Maintenance Services. During these years he was also farming on a part-time basis with cattle and crops.

When the livestock side of his farming operation began growing, he decided to make farming his priority and walked away from the business to be a hands-on farmer, plant more, and increase the volume of his livestock.

Boy presently plants yellow and white maize on 80 ha of his 838-ha farm, Sterkfontein, in Mpumalanga. His target is to increase production from the 200 to 250 tons he is currently realising, to 350 tons and more. His livestock component consists of Nguni and Brahman cattle which are sold at auction. He also breeds goats and broilers which are sold in the community.

The variable climatic conditions subjected some of Boy’s fields to waterlogging and leaching of nutrients in the previous season. Another challenge he often has to deal with is the problems arising from the surrounding communal areas. These include crop theft and the invasion of stray livestock with subsequent damage to his crops. However, none of these challenges will distract him from his goal to be part of fighting poverty and hunger in the country by contributing to food security. ‘I won’t give up, because farming controls stomachs!’ he adds.

BOY’S STORY
What do you consider the most important aspects of farming?
Farming is built on five pillars: soil, knowledge, labour, capital, and markets.

Who contributed to your success?
The Phahama Grain Phakama team has been helping me grow as a farmer since 2017 through study group sessions, training courses, and farm visits. If I am unsure of what to do, the team is just a phone call away.

What are your future expectations?
I want to expand the current area under production, but my big dream is to have my farm running fully as a family business. My wife, Bawinile Ntombenhle Sukazi, is my right hand on the farm. She can drive a tractor and even helps with the planting. I really hope to get some or all of my five children involved in the farming business. One of my sons is studying farm management, which is a step in the right direction, and my daughter has also started her agricultural studies.

FARM FACTS
Name: Sterkfontein
Nearest town: Amersfoort
Region: Mpumalanga
Size: 838 ha – plants 80 ha
Type of farming operation: Mixed – crops (white and yellow maize), livestock (Nguni and Brahman cattle and goats) and broilers

PGP’S CONTRIBUTION

  • Joined Grain SA in 2017
  • Chairperson of the Amsterdam study group

TRAINING COURSES COMPLETED

  • Introduction to maize production
  • Introduction to dry bean production
  • Introduction to groundnut production
  • Tractor and farm implement maintenance
  • Introduction to farm management and farm finance
  • Planter and boom sprayer calibration
  • Basic engine repair
  • Workshop skills
  • Resource assessment and farm planning
  • Nutrition: Different food groups