'You got to see beauty in the field'
Thalefang Charles | Monday February 28, 2022 06:00
He started from humble beginnings with the bailing of grass and selling to the government through the Livestock Advisory Centres (LAC) that subsidised feed for farmers during drought years.
When asked as to what keeps him here in the bush while he could be elsewhere in the metropolis like most people, he says: “Most people don’t want to farm anymore. They want a nice job in the city, where they have all the amenities, which is good for them. We all love to live well”.
Then old man gets poetic about what kept him farming all his life. “You got to see beauty in the field. I see beauty in the land. You got to enjoy the crops, trees, the bush, wildlife, the outdoors. I love it here. I enjoy farming,” he attests.
With over four decades of farming in Pandamatenga, Cumming says the area is special.
“We are unique because we farm with animals. There is lots of game here, there are elephants, eland, sable, I mean there were about 10 roans (antelopes) just here yesterday.”
He says he was brought up on a farm, but he quickly adds that “you don’t have to be brought up on a farm to love farming”.
Together with his family, the Cummings live completely off the grid in the farmhouse. He has now handed the reins of the farm management to his son-in-law, Ryan Neal, who is also the chairperson of the Pandamatenga Farmers Association.
At their farmhouse, which is located on a small hilly area away from the black cotton soil, he says they have everything that they need. They use green energy, solar power for electricity, TV, fridge, internet, and get their produce from the farm. His son-in-law jokingly chips in and advises that it is a great way to live, especially when you have your partner living on the farm as “there is no competition or long-distance to deal with”.
Cumming believes that formal education is necessary but more practical work is critical. His farm has agriculture student interns from the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and he believes that if they can spend more time in the fields then they could augment their appreciation of farming.
Cumming also advises that: “If you make success in any business you got to enjoy it”.
Cumming said he acquired his first farm via tender and proceeded to buy another one. With about 10 square kilometres of fertile farmland to cultivate, he says most of all the farm revenue goes into reinvestments to increase the efficiency of the farm.
“People come here and get overwhelmed at the size of our farms and think we are super-rich. But we are not rich, all the money goes into farm equipment,” he says.
He points to one of his four tractors busy ploughing Mung beans and says that one set up of a tractor and planter cost about P3 million.
Cumming takes his responsibility to ‘help feed the nation’ very seriously but to him, it is a labour of love, passion for agriculture and the outdoor lifestyle that has guided his entire life.