Challenging stereotypes in the poultry industry

Omphemetse Ranoto. | Supplied

Omphemetse Ranoto. | Supplied

Published Oct 23, 2024

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LISA WITEPSKI

As a young black female farmer, Omphemetse Ranoto, owner of Pheme Everlast poultry farm, is challenging every stereotype associated with the agricultural industry – and she’s encouraging other women to do the same.

Omphemetse’s decision to establish Pheme Everlast reveals her true spirit as an entrepreneur: unsure of what to do once she had finished matric, she looked to her community’s needs to see if there was a gap she could fill. That gap lay in supplying broiler chickens.

“There were very few farmers in Hammanskraal, where I live – most people leave to find jobs,” she says.

Luckily, she had a friend who had bucked this trend and was farming broilers, and armed with his advice and guidance, she set herself up as a reseller, working out a shack constructed to accommodate 250 chickens.

Business was brisk from the outset.

“More than anything, people were curious to see what this young girl, straight out of school, knew about chickens,” Omphemetse recalls.

But, she adds, while Pheme Everlast didn’t lack customers, there were many other challenges to be overcome.

“I made so many mistakes. My structure was very flimsy and it used to let rain in. Once, I walked in to find 10 chickens dead – (it was a) disaster because, for a reseller, every chicken counts.”

The greatest obstacle was her supplier’s decision to stop farming the birds. By then, Omphemetse had established a loyal client base and felt that she could not let them down – so she decided to breed her brood, purchasing day-old chicks with money she had received for Christmas.

Acquiring the chicks was one thing; keeping them alive was quite another, as Omphemetse soon found out.

“As a reseller, your most difficult job is to ensure the chickens have adequate ventilation. As a breeder, there are so many more things to think about. A chick is just like a baby; it has to be fed regularly and kept warm.”

Omphemetse got into the habit of setting her alarm throughout the night so that she could check on her chicks and top up their feed; all social plans were cancelled so that she could keep track of their needs during the day. Load shedding made the task even more difficult, as Omphemetse had to find a way to keep a lamp on in the structure at all times. And, despite her best efforts, she was not always successful: she lost 80 of the 500 chicks she started with.

“It was heartbreaking,” she remembered.

Determined not to repeat the same scenario, she studied YouTube videos on how to care for chicks and has since enrolled in a course covering animal health through Unisa.

While it had been easy to find customers in Omphemetse’s days as a reseller, when she typically sold 50 to 100 chicks per day, she found it more difficult to do so as a supplier. She approached every restaurant, shop and butcher she could find, introducing herself and her offering.

Her hard work paid off, however: she now supplies around 2 500 chickens to a Hammanskraal shisa nyama, while 3 000 are allocated to a butchery in Kwaggafontein. Another butchery in Warmbads purchases a further 3 500. Omphemetse reserves another 200 chickens for members of her community every week.

The success of her venture has prompted her to establish two more branches, in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. She has also expanded to include layers in her brood. This was a big step, as layers have different needs to broilers, she explained.

She is diversifying in other ways, too: she has acquired goats and sheep and has plans to introduce duck to her range.

Her biggest achievement, however, has been garnering the support of her community.

“People often come to me and ask me to help their daughters become businesspeople and learn about entrepreneurship. It means so much to know that I am a role model for youngsters in my community,” Omphemetse says.

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