BY PHESHEYA KUNENE – EDITOR
NDZINGENI, MGUNGUNDLOVU – When the heavens open and the Eswatini soil drinks deep, many see muddy chaos, but for 33-year-old farmer Mefika Ayanda Tsabedze, it’s an opportunity for growth, renewal, and resilience.
A trained electrical engineer turned full-time farmer, Tsabedze has found his spark not in cables and currents, but in the hum of green life rising from the red earth of Mgungundlovu under Ndzingeni Inkhundla.
His 1.5-hectare farm, Zamimphilo Farm Produce, is more than just a field, it’s a story of endurance, faith, and smart adaptation to changing climates.
From Power Lines to Plant Rows
“I grew up farming,” he recalls with a modest smile. “Our family started in 1999, but when everyone drifted away, I stayed. I believed in the soil and the water, they told me I could live.”
Armed with a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering and a Grade 2 Trade Test from EEC, Mefika could have chased a different kind of success. Instead, he chose to cultivate his own. Today, his farm flourishes with tomatoes, cabbages, spinach, beetroot, lettuce, maize, and onions, each plant a testament to his grit.
His tomatoes, grown smartly around the rainy season, have become his golden crop, timed perfectly to meet demand between March and June. “Timing is everything,” he says. “I plant just before the heavy rains so the fruit ripens sweet and firm when everyone else is still waiting for theirs.”
Riding the Storms
But the rain, generous as it may seem, can be unforgiving. Fields flood, pests multiply, and diseases creep in with humidity. “Sometimes I dig the whole 1.5 hectares by hand,” Mefika shares. “No tractors, no fancy tools, just determination.”
Without a vehicle, he walks produce to the main road or arranges delivery at a cost, often losing customers due to distance. Yet he remains undeterred.
“If I can’t deliver today, I’ll grow more tomorrow,” he says with conviction.
Support from Inhlanyelo Fund has been a lifeline, allowing him to buy 35 rolls of irrigation pipes and expand water supply across his fields. He also credits National Maize Corporation (NMC) and Farm Chemicals Malkerns for training him on safe pesticide use.
“Knowledge is power,” he adds. “If I see a problem I can’t solve, I call the extension officer, and we fix it before it spreads.”
Harvesting Hope
Through farming, Tsabedze has built not just a business, but a better life.
“I’ve bought cattle and building materials,” he says proudly. “And my neighbours no longer travel to Piggs Peak for vegetables. They buy fresh from me, right here.”
His proudest moment came this season when he planted 800 tomato seedlings and 1000 cabbages, all sold out before harvest ended. “That’s when I knew this dream was real,” he says.
A Vision for Tomorrow
The young farmer’s vision stretches beyond vegetables. “I’m planning to start pig farming soon,” he reveals. “I’ve got enough cabbage leaves to feed them.”
He also dreams of expanding into green peppers and more tomato varieties, with a sharp eye on proper timing and climate patterns. But his message to the youth is the ripest fruit of all:
“Let’s not wait for jobs. Farming has money, real money. You are your own boss, you work when you want, and you feed your nation.”
As the rain continues to nourish the Eswatini countryside, Zamimphilo Farm Produce stands as a symbol of what happens when perseverance meets purpose, when one man dares to till not just the soil, but his destiny.
For Mefika Tsabedze, farming is not just about growing food, it’s about growing life itself.
