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Phindi Kema a Successful Addo Citrus Exporter
www.MyAddo.co.za: In 2006 Phindi Kema gambled, not only by leaving the corporate world, but also by sinking her life savings into a citrus farm in Addo, a farming community about 80km outside Port Elizabeth. It was a fruitful move and she is now a successful citrus exporter.
Last year alone Kema managed to export more than 35000 cartons of citrus to the UK, Japan, Russia, Netherlands and Israel. Based on these volumes she is SA's leading black citrus exporter.
Kema, who comes from a family with a strong farming background, was inspired to return to the land by her last job as a senior manager at a Cape Town winery between 2005 and 2006.
"The company exposed me to viticulture and I realised that I had found my true passion. It dawned on me that I've got to live my dream. That's why I left my job and came to Eastern Cape with nothing. If you are to be happy in life you have to follow your gut," she says.
But little did she know what was awaiting her after initiating negotiations with the government to acquire the 40ha farm, with 22000 trees.
She says it took about nine months of blood, sweat and tears to seal the deal with the agriculture and land affairs department, a process that taught her to set realistic goals, a critical lesson for any business to succeed.
"It's very difficult to deal with the government; like sucking water out of a rock. Government is not a business, your timeframes are not their timeframes. If you are not careful, the red tape, bureaucracy and protocol can destroy your business," she says.
After getting all the paperwork out of the way, Kema was faced with the challenges encountered by many farmers on a daily basis.
"Many of us business people tend to focus on sealing deals, forgetting what lies ahead. As a result, following the honeymoon after sealing the deal, I was not mentally and financially prepared. Suddenly I was confronted with issues of working capital, escalating input costs and labour issues. To farm you need resources, tractors, diesel and labour."
After two years of trial and error, Kema says she is still learning the many pitfalls of the citrus export industry.
"I thought that my task was to produce the fruit and sell it to the agents who would export it or do whatever they wish with it," she says. But she soon discovered that it is not that simple in the export business. "I couldn't understand why you have to prepare the crop for 12 months and deliver it to a pack house so that an export agent can brand it as their own without paying for it. You get your money after about 12 weeks, and they will still deduct packing, transport and marketing costs. You don't even know how much the customer paid for your fruit.
"The fact that I must part with my fruit, without any deposit so that I can continue farming or have cash flow, not even any guarantee of what I will get, makes farming nigh on impossible."
Kema says while she is not out to prove a point, she will be happy if her example dispels misguided impressions that women cannot farm successfully.
She says South African citrus is able to hold its own internationally because it has a good reputation, but even so competition from traditional citrus producing countries such as Spain and Israel makes life difficult for local exporters.
"Government must incentivise all commercial farmers if we are to produce enough food for the country and compete globally. As much as we export, it is vital to produce more for our country."
Recently Kema scooped The Herald, Absa Corporate Business Bank and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School Business Person of the Year award in the editor's choice category. She has also been nominated for the prestigious Shoprite Checkers Woman of the year. But she refuses to take all the credit. Instead, she attributed all her success to her staff.
"These guys taught me a lot about farming citrus of excellent quality for export markets. They know far more about farming than I do. Corporate people taking over new businesses tend to forget about the staff -- at their peril. The workers are your most valuable asset, they determine the failure or success of your business," she says.
Kema has already exported more than 20000 cartons of lemons, navels and nova this year and she is hoping for another bumper season.
"This year's market is looking good because of drought in other countries. Lower production yields in those countries have boosted the prices we fetch."
Source: Sipho Masondo, AllAfrica