SHINING A LIGHT ON EFFECTIVE SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION

Tshidi Masebe, Lesedi’s mother, established Masebe Farming in 2008 on Rietspruit farm in the Vaal area outside Sebokeng. Today the business produces a variety of vegetables such as peppers, spinach, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, and various herbs on 20ha.

Masebe Farming supplies retailers through food companies, such as Fresh Link and Harvest Fresh. “We also market to informal traders who buy spinach and potatoes from the farm,” says Lesedi. There is a further 50ha of yellow maize and Lesedi is in the process of building an intensive livestock operation.

Born in Mohlakeng in the Vaal area, Lesedi moved to Johannesburg with her parents, Tshidi and Pheko, while she was still a small child. “We moved to Midrand, where I did all my schooling. My mom worked at Woolworths as a food manager, and later as a store manager, before she left to start her own business,” explains Lesedi.

Tshidi had to visit farms as part of her job at Woolworths and it was on these farm visits that her passion for farming