WINDHOEK – André Compion of Farm Ghaub, situated in the Maize Triangle between Tsumeb, Grootfontein and Otavi, has officially been named the Master Agronomist for 2014.
Compion has been awarded the title for his white maize crop that has been cultivated under rain fed conditions by the Namibian Agronomic Board (NBA) during the Annual General Meeting of the Namibian Agronomic Producers Association. He was nominated for the Master Agronomist title by the Grootfontein Farmers Association for the second consecutive year and selected from amongst other top-class finalists by a multi-stakeholder team led by the NAB.
Compion’s eventual path to Ghaub was carefully crafted and his story is unique amongst his peers. After matriculating, he studied to become a pharmacist and owned two pharmacies in Windhoek for seven years before embarking on a full time career in aviation. He was a part time cattle farmer on his very first farm, Omaha in the Okahandja District in 1987, which comprised 4 143 ha and reached a milestone in his farming career on his 45th birthday in 2005, when he awoke to having realised his dream of being a full time farmer. Ghaub presented itself as a farming opportunity in 2007 which he bought because he thought the transaction was right at the time and sold his other farming concerns in the Okahandja district to focus on new challenges there.
When he started the operation at Ghaub, Compion admits to knowing nothing about producing white maize, and acknowledges with gratitude the help and advice that many of the experienced farmers in the area have given freely and without hesitation. He also sought advice from professional agricultural organisations such as Agra and Kaap Agri. He says that one of the reasons that he plants white maize is because information is so readily available; on the internet, at farmers’ days, and from companies who distribute fertiliser, seed and pesticides. The commitment and attitude of the team at Ghaub also makes a huge difference to production and the success of the operation. “My team don’t wear their watches when we start working in the field,” says Compion.
Compion believes in the principle of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and translates the principle at Ghaub as the diversity of operations that complement each other. The farming operation at Ghaub comprises three primary synergistic components; cattle farming, a tourism and hunting operation and the production of white maize – both under rain fed conditions and under irrigation – beans and sorghum. Rain fed white maize is taken up by Namib Mills while one of the main uses of the crop under irrigation is to produce feedlot for the cattle as they go to slaughter.
When he first started farming at Ghaub, he worked with the existing 132 ha on the farm. In 2013, he planted 500 ha but has reduced this area to just 200 ha in 2014, and 60 ha of sorghum because of last year’s drought. The yield of rain fed white maize over the past four years has been 4.11 tons/ha in 2010 to 4.4 tons in 2011 and 5.37 tons in 2012. Last year, he harvested 850kg per ha in one area and allowed the cattle into the rest to feed. “I manage the farm by paying close attention to properly prepared fields for planting new crops, rows planted 90m apart for excellent plant population; proper soil classification and soil analysis with the aim of applying correct and adequate fertilisers, and staying abreast of potential problems in an effort to produce a healthy crop,” he states. He adds that he believes in four principles on his farm; financial planning and management, diversification, value adding and effectiveness.
By Deon Schlechter