Meet our Top 50 Thriving Female Founder for 2019 Edition

Farmer and businesswoman Tebogo Ditsebe has spent the past seven years growing grapes in Jacobsdal using eco-friendly practices.

Tebogo Ditsebe means business. And, she has every reason to be filled with optimism and excitement. In just a year, Ms Ditsebe, the owner of Plot 201 in Riet Rivier Farm in Jacobsdal recently made her first harvest of grapes. The Kimberley woman is expecting to harvest at least 300 tons of grapes which could accumulate R400 000 in cash. The harvesting process took more than two weeks because it is done through manual labour. The process is managed by her 32 seasonal employees who are remunerated at an industry standard pay of R105 a day. The produce is sold to Griekwaland Wes Kooperasie in Kimberley in time for fermentation in June. “I was approached by the previous owner who was selling the farm and I jumped at the opportunity. I made contact with the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) for financial assistance to acquire the property and followed all the processes until I signed a lease agreement in 2013 under (the) Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy (PLAS),” she explained. The farm was neglected when Ms Ditsebe took over. Together with her workers, they managed to revive the grape plants with lots of water, fertilizers and spraying. The emerging farmer pointed out that rough weather conditions in the form of heavy rain and hail are some of the challenges she battles. “Grapes become more fragile and susceptible to hail. Grapes require hot weather and are sensitive to weeds as they absorb most of the water and fertilizers that are meant for the fruit. We need a harvesting machine because it is labour intensive to do it manually and it adds to high production costs,” she said. 

On the brighter side, the farm has set up a canal that draws water from a nearby river and runs through the installed irrigation system. The farmer has nothing but jubilation about the progress she has made given she had no prior experience in farming grapes. She now displays confidence as she has gained knowledge through workshops and meetings with other farmers in the business of grapes and wine making. Riet Rivier is a 44 hectare (ha) farm acquired in 2013 PLAS, a sub-programme of Land Reform. 20ha of the farm is allocated for the grapes plantation. Ms Ditsebe plants an assortment of grapes among them are Witmuskdel, Villard Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Colombar, Shiraz and Cabernet which makes red wine.