"If you are retrenched from your formal job, there is no need to complain or involve yourself in criminal activities. The worldwide brutality of the coronavirus pandemic will stay with us for a while, but life must go on, despite all the challenges. Create a job for yourself, so that you can generate some money to support yourself and your family."
This is the advice from Dakalo Ramalivhana (33) of Muhuyu village, outside Thohoyandou. Ramalivhana was retrenched in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the little he received from his unemployment insurance fund (UIF), the young entrepreneur decided to start something that would later become a permanent solution to his unemployment blues.
Growing up in a family where tilling the land was the order of the day, Ramalivhana decided to use his experience and started informal farming on a piece of land at the neighbouring village of Matangari village. "When I was retrenched in Gauteng, I immediately decided to go home to start farming, because I grew up in a family that practiced crop farming. My father, Ronald Ramalivhana, has a field and we used to work there as a family to produce food. That is why it was not difficult for me to start farming after I had lost my job. I'm happy that, despite losing my job, I can support my wife, Ndivhuwo Netshishivhe, and our two kids, who are still at school. My decision to venture into farming has also changed other people's lives, because I have employed four seasonal workers who can now support their families."
He now farms maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts and vegetables, which he sells to the public. He has his designated spot along the road at Khubvi village where people buy his products. "Those who have transport or who are buying large quantities come to my field to buy my products, but I also have to think about ordinary community members who could not make it to Matangari. That's why I come close to them, so that they can get my products with ease."
He is willing to share his farming skills with young, unemployed aspirant farmers for free. Those who want his assistance can call him on 076 031 5406.