From A Taxi Driver To A Farmer: How Siphosihle Maseko Overcame Failures

Despite growing up in the agricultural heartland of Keiskammahoek, Eastern Cape, it took the death to inspire Siphosihle Maseko to pursue farming. Today, his 10 hectare farm is thriving.

When his mother, Xoliswa Maseko, passed away in 2014, Maseko struggled to make ends meet, he suddenly also had to take care of his grandmother.

“I started the farm because of the hunger,”

He wasn’t working despite possesing a qualification in agricultural management from the Nelson Mandela University. He applied for numerous jobs but was rejected for all of them. When he eventually found job though, he was unhappy and quit after a few months.

Farming

His grandmother showed him land that was available and advised him to go into agriculture but he didn’t really want to do it due no experience in the field.

“I didn’t want to, but I had to. So, I left the job and became a taxi driver for a few months to raise funds for my farm.”

He drove his uncle’s taxi between Qonce and Keiskammahoek. His taxi was popular amongst the youth who liked its fresh look and the pump-up songs he played. Gqom and Amapiano tracks were his go-to genres.

In the end, he managed to save up about R18 000 which was enough to start his new life as a green maize farmer.

“Getting start-up capital is a challenge but saving up, talking to people and engaging with people does help. I have never received any type of funding or assistance. I have been doing everything out of my own pocket.”

According to Maseko, he was raised by a trio of women in his village: his mother, grandmother, and his aunt. His childhood was pleasant and for as long as he can remember, he dreamt about working in the lab as a forensic pathologist.

After matriculating at Breidbach Secondary School in Qonce with high marks, he went on to enroll at the University of Witwatersrand but varsity life humbled him quickly and he was forced to drop out in his second semester at the institution.

Not one to give up, he enrolled at Nelson Mandela University and completed his studies in Agriculture.

This was a big moment as it provided him with the option of introducing his experience in enterprise budgets to his taxi-owner boss to some of the possibilities held by the barren land at home.

The two joined forces, and started farming with green maize on two hectares. In 2021, they parted ways and Maseko has since also added cabbages while expanding his farming operation.

As of today, he produces about 45 000 cabbages and supplies both formal and informal markets.

“I make sure that when they need my produce I deliver, and that is why I plant in large volumes every month,”

Plans For The Future?

“I have knowledge of both kinds of farming and I want to combine them soon, there is also an undying fire inside of me. I work hard and I earn a profit, but I want to do more.”

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