Vuthela’s blossoming farming venture

It is rare that someone is gifted with different talents that make a difference in people’s lives like Butho Vuthela who is known for being a gospel musician, and who turned out to be an excellent farmer.

In 2018, Vuthela had more than 100 sheep stolen by thieves, but that became something that sharpened his agricultural skills.

“We saw that there is value in the land, and because of that we decided to use the land and continue to help the community,” explained Vuthela.

It is difficult for many to convert, leaving music entertainment and doing one of the most difficult and jobs people might view as unsanitary, which is crop and livestock farming.

“I started a co-operative with my children, and we named it Gedlumhlanga. We grow vegetables, we sell our produce to leading supermarkets like, Spar, Boxer, and other stores,” said Vuthela.

Diligence driven by the love of farming is what makes black farmers successful in farming. “We are now looking to produce more products from corn and other things, so instead of corn we can also sell samp and maize meal,” said Vuthela.

Vuthela is known for his gospel songs accompanied by an encouraging message for those who need revival to face life, he has released several albums.

“We moved the sheep we had from here to a place I cannot disclose, so we are also active in livestock farming as we also actively crop farming,” said Vuthela.

The growth of a farmer is seen by their ability to create job opportunities in the community, while they also grow financially.

“We have decided to create job opportunities, we have employed 23 people,” said Vuthela.

Vuthela also helps students by giving them opportunities to participate in crop and livestock farming programs using the knowledge they get at school.

“We have been visited by MEC Nonkqubela Pieters, we are waiting for the Eastern Cape Premier, Oscar Mabuyane to inspect the work we are doing,” said Vuthela.

Vuthela is from Upper Ngxaxha in Mount Fletcher near the uKhahlamba Mountain. For his singing talent, Vuthela has received numerous accolades as well as selling a lot of albums copies.

“For the young people, I would say that the time has come for us to stand up and make a difference, we have the ability to do that, the fields that used to produce food have grown wild, let us stand up and work,” said Vuthela.

He also urged the government to consider plans to assist emerging farmers. “We highly commend the government officials for their work, but there are officials who do not assist us as farmers who are just starting out, we ask the government to consider this,” he said.

Regarding the theft of livestock that has affected Vuthela, the police in the Eastern Cape issued reports that there is collaboration between livestock thieves in this province and other provinces, and countries like Lesotho.

Last month, the police arrested a group of livestock thieves allegedly led by a woman in Tsolo.

“I urge the youth to stop spending their time on social media, social media does not help us, let us put pride aside and work,” urged Vuthela.

He said many farmers lose interest because they are discouraged by the obstacles they encounter in government assistance.