His vision is to change face of Nkayi rural life

Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter
His office, part of a huge complex that he owns in Belmont industrial area, is decorated with hanging picture frames while a sculpture of a big black “bull” majestically stands on the table to welcome visitors not only to his office but to his world.

The world of the “The Cattleman”- a term he calls himself by in his documents.

He was born Anania Ncube in 1964 in Dakamela Village, Nkayi district of Matabeleland North Province and educated at rural schools in Dolahali and Dakamela Primary and Secondary schools.

Mr Ncube says his vision is to change the face of rural life in Nkayi.

“I am the sixth born in a family of seven children. My background is strongly rural and our family is what I would call a medium with strong leaning to being poor.Ngingumntaka hwayibhetshu. Even though my father had many cattle, we walked to school barefoot most of the time,” he said.

Although he says like most children growing up ekhaya ,he first went to school being pushed despite the fact that he was one of the best in his class.

The deeply religious man says his life transformed in 1998 while in Form two when he became a Christian, a giant step which he says has guided all his dealings.

Once he wrote his O Levels, Ncube says he did several professional courses in evaluation, economics, marketing, agriculture, and development with various colleges.

“I did these courses because I was now mature and had begun setting my career path. I got employed as a manager but I only worked for 4 and half years before quitting my job. Being employed was not my thing and even before I quit my job, I was using my time away from work and on weekends to hustle.

“What really made me to quit was the exposure. The set up at work and the community I was working at started registering to me that there is more to it in life than being employed. When I compared an employed someone and a person doing something for himself it was different,” he says with a smile.

The father of three says despite all the benefits that came with his office job which included being the boss, and given free teas and lunch among a host of them, his mind was already made up after watching employed people taking nothing home on retirement. He says some of his junior workmates had also quit their jobs to start their own business which further strengthened his resolve to quit.

Mr Ncube says he fought his insecurities and that of his family who feared his move would result in doom and gloom.

“My starting point was buying and selling of cattle from Nkayi and selling them in Bulawayo. The secret was pushing volumes and I would buy 15 or more cattle and then sell them at once. At one time I was an agent for CC sales and I would buy and sell as far as Insiza. I got respected as a supplier and at one time I used to supply the Cold Storage Commission with 400 cattle per week and Colcom as well.

“Despite that I respected the money I was making and never changed my life style like what we see some people do once they are monied. Because of that growth, I started to replan my business and started to produce my own cattle instead of buying from other producers,” he says.

Mr Ncube says having grown up in a rural set up where the leasing of cattle (amasiso) was strongly practised, he decided to perfect the traditional method after gaining modern knowledge on cattle management.

He says he puts great value on his cattle as it is his wealth and wants other farmers from his area and beyond to master.

“I did not have a farm for many years and it is only recently that the Government gave me one. I would lease them to people in my area. Some of them had no cattle at all but now they are proud owners of herds of cattle. The people I leased to have achieved cattle revenues like draught power, manure, milk, and enhanced status in society.

“Critically as well it has transformed the quality of cattle, the mortality rate is down and reproductive performance has changed for the best. I have also passed my cattle knowledge and business skills to them. Several of them are doing very well but they started from nothing.

Through my Inala Emerging Farmers Bull Breeding Scheme, I have assisted over 70 farmers to get quality bulls,” he says as he touches the bull on the table.

He says the bulls he breeds are Brahman crosses which are adaptable and do well in rural areas as they are bred there.

Mr Ncube says his vision is to spread the scheme throughout the country to empower rural farmers who have remained with poor breeds which do not offer them many returns.

So seriously business-minded is Mr Ncube that he declines to disclose how many cattle he has, saying: “Those animals are not mine they are for a business. Yimali leyi, it’s a bank on four hooves and anytime I can do anything with my money,” he says with a smile.

His quest to transform his area has seen him increase his portfolio into road runner chickens, Kalahari and Boer goats emphasizing that he only keeps animals that have high returns.

“What I want to justify is that in our African home, emakhaya kuyaphileka and it is possible to do all these things in a rural set up. Even in the A2 farm that I got I won’t change my style of doing things. I will continue to give my cattle out to empower the communities.,” he said.

His love for his community has seen him forming a non-governmental organisation – Health Education Food Organisation (HEFO), through which he extends his community transformation.

“HEFO is my brainchild as well. The motive for starting it was to expand on what I was already doing by empowering my community. But the vision is to grow outside Nkayi to other areas. We have attracted donors who loved the idea but it must be sustainable such that should they leave HEFO must continue,” he said.

The NGO has been assisting health and schools among other institutions with various donations.

Recently, HEFO donated Covid-19 equipment worth US$10 000 to help equip Dakamela clinic which is also an isolation centre.

Despite his business acumen, Mr Ncube refuses to be contained under that category.

“I`m not a businessman, am a cattleman from Nkayi.I employ around 21 people. For me corruption is employing the wrong people for the job. I do not employ people because they are relatives or from my area. They must have values that I share,” he said.

A beneficiary of Mr Ncube’s bull scheme Mr Robert Moyo (63) of Dakamela Village says he was given the bull for four years and it has played wonders on his herd.

“I loved the quality of his cattle and his management skills so I asked him to lease me a bull which he did and the results are amazing. I had the small hard Mashona type of cattle. I remember one time I sold one ox and it weighed over 600 kgs and managed to pay two semesters for my son at college and remained with something,” he said

Mr Moyo said he now has 53 cattle and he sells his heifers for around 9 000 rand each and many people buy them without hesitation because of their quality.

He says many villagers in Dakamela have embraced the empowerment and results are there for all to see.

Another villager, Mr Mqhelisi Ncube (57) says he was one of the poorest farmers who had been struggling to raise the numbers of their cattle but things changed after he exchanged his two oxen for two heifers around 2010 with Mr Ncube.

“I now have 21 cattle but for years had been struggling to reach 10. The calving rate is good and when you take it to the market you come back very happy. They are easily adjusted to our grazing areas which has made life easy,” said an elated Mr Ncube

He said communities now value modern ways of cattle farming which has seen many homesteads constructing their own treatment holding areas, a situation he says will see the district contributing to the revival of the national herd.

Mrs Vita Mloyi (73) from Mabhada village says she leased 10 cattle, including a bull, from Mr Ncube and after undergoing workshops to educate farmers on cattle management she has seen great results.

“He leases to women as well which has empowered us. Omama sebezithanda izibaya.Growing up we knew about amasiso project but he has modernised the model with good outcomes. I now have ama brema lami,” she said.

Mrs Mloyi says Mr Ncube gave her one heifer as part of the amasiso program.

She said people in her village have seen the transformation due to the impact of the bulls bred by Mr Ncube.

Nkayi North MP who is also the Minister of Women Affairs, Community and Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Dr Sithembiso Nyoni said Mr Ncube is dedicated to empowering people. “I am proud of the work that he is doing. He is so dedicated in helping everyone by giving out his bulls to transform their herds. In my constituency he has helped several people. Our clinics and hospitals are also recipients of his good deeds,” she said.

Dr Nyoni said Mr Ncube`s project has been successful because he links whatever he does to the national economic grid which must be emulated by all people who have projects.

While he runs his cattle paperwork and strategies from his Bulawayo office complex bought through proceeds from cattle, Mr Ncube says his is a story of a village boy who has remained humble and never moved by achievements -a secret to his success. — @themkhust.