After years of caring for patients as a nurse, Busisiwe Mgangxela found a different way to improve people’s health — by growing food.
The 64-year-old farmer now leads an agroecology farm at Hillview in Cambridge, KuGompo City, demonstrating how sustainable farming can nourish communities while protecting the environment for future generations.
Mgangxela, who was born in Mdantsane, never expected to become a farmer, though her family did grow vegetables at home.
After completing her studies, she worked as a nursing educator at the Mthatha College of Nursing before taking up a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia in 2003.
“Upon my return [in 2005], I took a decision to start my own business,” Mgangxela said.
She attended a Women in Business workshop in Gqeberha, where she and her husband were staying at the time, and decided to pursue agriculture as a practical business opportunity.
They initially began distributing fresh produce to schools and local businesses.
“There was a shortage of cabbage and other vegetables being supplied to schools, so my husband and I decided we could grow them ourselves and sell the surplus to other service providers,” she said.
By 2014, the couple had relocated to Middledrift, where they focused on farming full-time on her in-laws’ land.
At about the same time, Mgangxela discovered agroecology — a holistic approach to agriculture that aims to produce food while protecting the environment — after attending a course run by the Trust for Community Outreach and Education in Qonce.
Though she previously viewed farming as a childhood chore rather than a passion, learning about agroecology changed her perspective.
Her background in nursing had already taught her the importance of nutrition, and she quickly recognised the value of producing healthy food while caring for the environment.
“I saw a huge difference between agroecology and conventional farming, and then I fell in love with it because it cares for the environment while producing nutritious food,” Mgangxela said.
A professor at the University of Fort Hare encouraged the family to apply for farmland, and after a lengthy application process they were allocated Hillview Farm in Cambridge in 2018.
Though the family’s application was successful, the property was later allocated to someone else.
After a lengthy dispute they were finally able to move onto the land, only to find it neglected and vandalised.
“There was no support, and the farm had been vandalised; there was no fencing, and the buildings were in poor condition.
“But we told ourselves we were not leaving. We worked with what we had.”
They began farming fruit and vegetables, later also cultivating herbs and plants that produce essential oils, including rosemary, thyme, lemon balm and marjoram, with the aim of exploring the export market.
Government support eventually arrived in 2023 when the department of agriculture provided fencing, while research organisations began using part of the property to study essential oil crops.
The Eastern Cape Development Corporation invited entrepreneurs from the province to a trade exhibition in Tunisia on export opportunities and Mgangxela seized the opportunity.
She now plans to export moringa, which is rich in vitamins and minerals and is believed to support overall wellbeing and wound healing — and other essential oils.
Despite the recent progress, Mgangxela said agroecology farmers still received too little support.
“Everything is not yet at the scale we would love because of the lack of support for agroecology farmers.
“But we are grateful for what has been done.”
The farm now employs three people, and Mgangxela is passionate about sharing her knowledge, particularly with young people.
“I love training people. I love showing them what we are doing so they can experience it for themselves.”
For Mgangxela, farming has become an extension of the caring profession she left behind.
“My students sometimes ask if I left nursing. I tell them I never left. I’m still caring.
“I’m taking care of nature, the soil, the environment and people by addressing the important issue of nutrition,” she said.
Daily Dispatch
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