FARM OTJATJINGENGE – Embracing challenges, being innovative, taking calculated risks, always striving to reach new heights and collaborating with fellow farmers have kept farmer Cisca Katjatako going for the past eight years. 

Today, she runs and manages a hugely-successful garden at farm Otjatjingenge, which is situated some 30km from Okakarara. Here she plants and sells carrots, onions, grapes, potatoes, beetroots, cabbages, beans, mealies, watermelons, oranges and lemons, amongst many others. 

At Otjatjingenge, the 42-year-old Katjatako is an inspiration and a beaming point of reference to many upcoming female farmers, who are equally determined to go into farming full-time and become contributors to Namibia’s food security. 

Not only has she become one of the top suppliers to supermarkets in the Okakarara constituency and greater Otjozondjupa region, but her story is one that oozes courage, risks and embracing challenges as they come. 

After working at Pupkewitz Megabuild for over 16 years, Katjatako in 2017 took a bold decision to quit her job and pursue her dream of going into farming on a full-time basis. 

But she was careful not to sightlessly jump both feet into the tough and demanding trade of farming, as she first started with a small garden at home. After a few successful yields, she decided to move a step further and expand her garden.

Not only were the harvests hugely successful, but demand from the local clients was also growing, and interest from fellow female farmers was outpouring.

“My first small garden is what gave me hope and courage to move on with my dream. I expanded my garden and introduced a variety of crops as I was trying and testing out the adaptability and reliance of various products. Today, I can confidently tell you that I survive from this garden and it is also from this garden where I supply all my clients,” Katjatako shared with AgriToday.

Childhood dream 

For Katjatako, setting up and managing her own garden has always been her childhood dream. One of her biggest inspirations and heroes was late female farmer Naftaline Kanduu Tjirongo, who was their immediate neighbour. 

“I grew up watching her, and I would always admire how she ran her garden. She motivated and taught me and others the different techniques when planting and when harvesting. I learned a lot from her, and to this very day, she remains my biggest inspiration. May her soul rest in peace. I’m happy with how far I have come and being able to feed my family from this garden.”

She says managing a garden is not a walk in the park as it requires determination, perseverance and full-time monitoring. 

“If you are someone who always travels a lot and doesn’t have time to be in your garden all the time, it is going to be very difficult to manage it. You must have time and patience for your garden and must always be ready to innovate and move with the times. We must also embrace new technologies.” 

Market access

She is now one of the suppliers to the Choppies Supermarket at Okakarara, and the plan is to solidify and further nurture her relationship with top clients such as Choppies and others, including small and medium outlets at the town. 

“Just recently, we supplied Choppies with a variety of produce and they were very happy with the quality, cleanness and size of our supplies. They were jokingly asking me with what do I water my crops, and I told them it’s just pure water. But I would say the level of attention I gave to my garden is what makes the difference,” she adds. 

Embracing new forms of communication such as WhatsApp has made marketing much easier as most of her clients from surrounding areas order their items through WhatsApp, and she delivers with no delay. 

“People like Tjaatja Katrina Kandjii Black, Kasukoo Emily Kavari, Nicole Kuzeue Tjiueza and Kavee Tjiveze are amongst our regular customers. They buy all their vegetable combos and various items straight from our garden. The same goes for all residents of surrounding villages; we supply them too.”

Challenges 

Katjatako says some of her biggest challenges are ground squirrels and small insects that eat her seeds and crops before reaching maturity for harvest. But through collaboration with other farmers and experts such as Nico Mauano, she says the situation is manageable. 

She has not been privileged enough to receive funding and additional support from government or the councillor’s office in order to expand her operations, but thanks to the unwavering support of her husband Erwin Katjatako, she has managed to reach new frontiers. 

“Everything and all equipment that I have in our garden are through the support of my husband Erwin, who is my biggest support system. From the irrigation pipes, seeds, nets, poles and everything, my husband helped fund it. I have two people helping me at the garden, and hopefully we will employ more people as our operations grow.”

-ohembapu@nepc.com.na