“I WENT TO CEDA THINKING I KNOW WHAT I WANT, UNTIL THEY SHOWED ME WHAT I REALLY NEED”
After quitting his job as mechanical engineer at Orapa Mine in 2011, Rre Moses Manake (56) pondered on what he could venture into.
After quitting his job as mechanical engineer at Orapa Mine in 2011, Rre Moses Manake (56) pondered on what he could venture into.
He came to CEDA in 2014 to ask for funding to start a horticultural project. This, not because he knew anything about horticulture but only because he had a 20-hectare farm lying idle.
He was so ambitious he asked for a loan running into millions of Pula. CEDA advised him to start small so that he can gain some experience before he could go on full throttle. At the time, he was fuming because he wanted the millions in his bank account.
Today, with the benefit of hindsight and from experience, he says the advice from CEDA to start with 2 hectares of his 20 hectares farm was the best advice ever. He started small, burnt his fingers, gained invaluable experience and expanded gradually to now tilling 6 hectares.
Rre Manake is full of praises to CEDA officials, his wife Mme Grace Manake who performs marketing duties for their produce(tomatoes, butternut and green pepper). He speaks highly of Rre Kenneth Makubate, a specialist agricultural mentor who has been assigned by CEDA to mentor him
CEDA hires experts to mentor all its clients in various sectors, if need be. “Rre Makubate is a very good mentor who has taught me a lot and he is passionate, patient and emphatic so much that when something goes wrong here you can see and feel his pain like this is his farm”
Rre Manake supplies big retailers such as Spar and vendors from as far as Francistown and Phikwe. He says the business is doing well and pointed to some of the things that he has been able to acquire without getting another loan, ...
such as a house that is still under construction right inside the farm as he wants to relocate from his home in Bobonong and come stay here permanently. He has also acquired a brand new mini truck that he uses for deliveries.
Rre Manake is a hands-on farmer who drives the farm farm tractor and and works with his employees in planting, fertilizing and harvesting the vegetables. He employs seven people on permanent basis, with staff housing and hires casual labourers from time to time as and when...
the need arises.
We celebrate you Rre le Mme Manake. Our country’s food security is in your hands. 🤲 🍅 🫑
The Manake’s farm, Marvelous Light, is about 7 kilometers before you enter Bobonong.
#kemogakakaceda #finance #develop #sustain #BuildingBatswanaForBotswana
We celebrate you Rre le Mme Manake. Our country’s food security is in your hands. 🤲 🍅 🫑
The Manake’s farm, Marvelous Light, is about 7 kilometers before you enter Bobonong.
#kemogakakaceda #finance #develop #sustain #BuildingBatswanaForBotswana
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