Horticulture“I feel is time for me to explore anagricultural side <strong>of</strong> my pr<strong>of</strong>essionon a commercial basis. It is anotherextension <strong>of</strong> my passion.”Article: Keamogetse BoitshepoPhotos: Pius NkundaA horticulturist bypr<strong>of</strong>ession, who dedicatedthe past 12 years <strong>of</strong> his lifeto a landscaping business,is sinking his teeth in theagricultural sector. In aspace <strong>of</strong> three years, theinnovative business man, MrQuett Rabai has secured threedifferent fields to pursue hisintegrated farming passion.“I feel is time for me to explore anagricultural side <strong>of</strong> my pr<strong>of</strong>essionon a commercial basis. It is<strong>February</strong> <strong>2013</strong> 6
as a Business <strong>of</strong> Choiceanother extension <strong>of</strong> my passion.”Walking in his 12 hectareOrange Grave farm in Kgope,there are heaps <strong>of</strong> butternut,tomatoes, green pepper bags andwatermelons. The employees arefinishing preparing orders thatwill be picked up in no time.Rabai explains that the vegetablesare divided into different qualitygrades looking at their size andthe appearance among otherthings. His clients which aremainly chain supermarketsincluding Vegeland, Choppies,Pick’nPay and Mr Veg buy fordifferent clientele.However, Rabai notes that themarket for vegetables in Botswanais not stable, hence he has tonegotiate prices in every saledeal. The fluctuation <strong>of</strong> pricesaccording to Rabai, is dependanton the saturation <strong>of</strong> vegetables inthe market.“Influx <strong>of</strong> imported vegetablesfrom South Africa saturates themarket and causes a decreasein prices for locally producedvegetables. This is sad andfrustrates efforts <strong>of</strong> local farmers.”Like the adage “the earliest birdcatches the fattest worm,” Rabaiensures he is amongst the first toharvest in order to get good pricesfor his produce.Resembling other industries,the horticulture sub sector issurvival <strong>of</strong> the fittest. As such,Rabai could not over emphasizethe importance <strong>of</strong> thoroughunderstanding <strong>of</strong> trends andtimely production in order tobe pr<strong>of</strong>itable. Considering theclimatic conditions, Rabai saysspecial consideration also goes toplanting proper vegetables for theseason.“We mainly plant leafy crops inwinter because they are resistantto frost. Fruity vegetables areplanted in summer for their heatand storm tolerance traits.”Rabai plants different vegetablesat the same time; currently hehas tomatoes, green pepper,butternuts and melons. To spreadthe risk since he has not yet builtnets he plants them at differentintervals.“We organize planting in sucha way that when we sell a batchanother is maturing. This alsocreates continuity in our supplyover a period <strong>of</strong> time.”The method, according toRabai keeps continuity in thebusiness, such that the businessis constantly active.While his enterprise is doingwell at the moment, Rabaireminisces <strong>of</strong> the hard lessonshe had to learn to be where he is.His early days in the horticulturebusiness were met by the hardrealities <strong>of</strong> not doing a marketresearch. Excited to finallypursue his passion, Rabai sayshe planted vegetables like springonion that would be preferred bya smaller fraction <strong>of</strong> the market.His aim was to sell to certainchain supermarkets. When theproduce was ripe, he did notmanage to secure a business dealhence ended up with heaps <strong>of</strong>rotten produce.As a result, Rabai resorted toplanting common vegetables thatcan be easily bought even onthe streets like chomolia, rape,tomatoes, melons and butternut.“I plant horticulture producethat majority <strong>of</strong> the populationprefer as such I sell to chainsupermarkets and vendors. Thevegetables are on demand; <strong>of</strong>tenscarcity <strong>of</strong> the market is not anissue but meeting the requiredquantities.”Having self sponsored theestablishment <strong>of</strong> the enterpriseRabai fights tooth and nailto ensure that the project issuccessful. He emphasized theimportance <strong>of</strong> controls, checksand balances <strong>of</strong> operations inorder to make pr<strong>of</strong>it. He says fromjust ¼ <strong>of</strong> a hectare, he harvestabout 500 bags <strong>of</strong> butternuts.With a good price he says hemakes his pr<strong>of</strong>it.“When starting up I had t<strong>of</strong>inance purchasing <strong>of</strong> the field,drilling boreholes and installingdripping system. These are verycostly but I am confident that Iwill get return on investment in agood time.”To fully utilize the 12 hectares atOrange Grave, Rabai divided thefield into three sections to caterfor his other agriculture interests.“Two and half hectares are usedfor horticulture and the othertwo parts are divided betweendry land farming and animalhusbandry.”The animal husbandry side<strong>of</strong> the farm is divided to housesducks, tswana chickens, rabbitsand goats. Rabai prefers integratedfarming for its reciprocal traiton each sub sector. He feelshis smallstock and poultry withhorticultural produce and use theanimal waste like chicken litteron the fields as maure.7<strong>February</strong> <strong>2013</strong>
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