Sulie Piti the amazing emerging maize farmer

Sulie Piti is a young farmer from Mthatha who grows maize in Jojweni, Bhaziya. Due to his enthusiasm and diligence in all he does, he sets an excellent example for his peers. Piti, who cultivates maize on 70 hectares of land, challenges the beliefs of individuals who wait for assistance before beginning to farm and breed animals.

“The fact that I grew up in a household where there was a lot of farming motivated me to pursue farming,” Piti explained. The number of young farmers pursuing agriculture in the Eastern Cape and South Africa is increasing, albeit slowly.

“The love of crop and livestock husbandry is like an inheritance for me, as it is something that I also inherited from my grandfather, it passes through the generations,” said Piti. He believes that farming is one approach to combat and address South Africa's pervasive unemployment issue.

“The significant unemployment rate among our youth is one of the reasons I started farming,” Piti explained. He stated that farming is one of the ways he can provide employment for himself while also hiring his peers.

“This is to create work for myself and other young people, on the other side I also want to participate in improving the financial situation of South Africa in general,” added Piti.

As his farming operation expanded, his dedication to his work garnered him recognition. Farming and animal husbandry are different ways to address South Africa's high unemployment rate. “I am also a breeder of high-quality sheep with the goal of growing so that I may continue to contribute to South Africa's poor financial state,” Piti explained.

Piti is among the Eastern Cape's new farmers who continue to utilize the social media platform created by Kwanda Nyazeka of Agriculture and Young. Agriculture and Young publicizes the talents and efforts of Eastern Cape and South African young farmers. Farmers have the chance to get recognition through this platform in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, and abroad.

“We have young farmers from countries other than South Africa who frequently present their work on our Agriculture and Youth platform,” Nyazeka explained. For aspiring farmers, this platform is a tremendous source of motivation.

According to a recent report from the Eastern Cape provincial parliament, the floods across the country have badly impacted the OR Tambo region, where Sulie Piti farms. One of the top regions in the Eastern Cape for growing high-quality maize is OR Tambo. The solution to South African retail food prices and poverty is enough food production.