Mahlangu creates jobs while making an impact in her community

Gugulethu Mahlangu is a young woman who has set her mind on changing the world through farming.

“I am proud to be amongst a new breed of female farmers who are working to change the narrative of what it means to be a farmer,” she said.

Born in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, Mahlangu started studying agricultural science at the University of Pretoria in 2014 before her career as a farmer boomed.

An article on Farmer’s Weekly by Siyasanda Sishubi revealed how Mahlangu just after one year of study, felt uncertain about following a career in agriculture and switched to psychology and physiology.

Mahlangu grows spinach on at the Boksburg-based farm with the help of other young people she has employed.

She told the publication that she was inspired by her grandmother who too was a farmer.

It was through watching her grandmother and volunteering at a farm where she gained valuable knowledge and practical experience that she decided to pursue a career as a farmer.

Volunteering at the farm gave Mahlangu what she described as a taste of what life as a farmer would really be like.

Mahlangu revealed how even though she is a farmer today, there was a time when she had felt intimidated when starting out, because of the treatment she received from her male counterparts (including being undermined).

Because she was a young woman, they sheltered her by giving her ‘ladylike’ jobs.

“No one wanted to give me real farming jobs. They thought I shouldn’t work in the fields because I’d get sunburn,” recalls Mahlangu.

She persevered, however, and has been able to use the lessons she learnt to become a better farmer and business person.

“I never allowed the lack of land and resources to stand in my way. I went after what I wanted, compromised, and sacrificed my time, energy and comfort to get where I am today,” she says.

Editor’s note: Gugulethu Mahlangu is a young woman farmer who has followed in her grandmother’s footsteps, who too, was a farmer.

Description: Mahlangu grows spinach on at the Boksburg-based farm with the help of other young people she has employed.

Editor: Anirlé de Meyer

Project manager: Anirlé de Meyer