Tips for small-scale poultry producers
The littered, potholed municipal road leading to Gladys ‘Nana’ Towbola’s farm near Irene, Gauteng, could not be in sharper contrast to the smoothly run small-scale poultry operation and its dynamic owner. Towbola was born in Nigeria 44 years ago, but has called South Africa home for the past 32 years. For the past 13 of those she has been running her poultry business, Peezel Farms, where she sells day-old chicks, broilers and eggs. She has also trained over 500 small-scale farmers.
“In the 1980s, my father, who’s a gynaecologist, was invited to open a practice in South Africa, and the family moved here, ” she explains.
After matriculating, Towbola obtained a degree in Animal Science at Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, and also completed a few courses in business management. An entrepreneur by nature, she went on to run several small businesses such as a hair salon and an Internet café, while simultaneously starting a family.
Her passion for agriculture
