IN BUSINESS, PATIENCE IS A REQUIREMENT
Not many Batswana have warmed up to commercial orchard farming, or citrus plantation to be precise. Perhaps this reluctance is borne out of the long patience that is needed before citrus trees can finally bear fruits for the market.
Not many Batswana have warmed up to commercial orchard farming, or citrus plantation to be precise. Perhaps this reluctance is borne out of the long patience that is needed before citrus trees can finally bear fruits for the market.
Apparently, an orange tree grafted onto rootstock may take three years to begin producing, while a tree grown from seed can take up to 15 years. Mme Morwadi Rantsudi (60) is, however, one of the few Batswana who decided to venture into this painstakingly slow, yet handsomely ...
..rewarding type of farming. She grows oranges at her farm at Letlhakane lands, near Mmadinare. According to her, a single tree can produce 20 bags of oranges. You do the math. Mme Rantsudi was funded through CEDA’s Mabogo Dinku loan facility.
In fact, she is on her second loan from CEDA. She used her first loan to buy orange trees while the second loan went into irrigation system as she couldn’t keep up with watering her trees with a hose pipe or watering can.
Mme Rantsudi sells her oranges to some shops and street vendors. She always accepts walk-in customers at her farm. Her message to other Batswana is simple; “In business, patience is a requirement”
The other four women who were part of Mme Rantsudi’s Mabogo Dinku group were financed for poultry, a general dealer shop, tuck shop and a clothing shop, respectively.
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