GALLERY: 8-year-old's farming dream turns into success

SHE had big dreams from a very young age.

While most eight-year-olds were preoccupied with toys and ice cream, Amogelang Malangabi from Qwaqwa, Free State, was already dreaming of a life on the farm.

Inspired by her dad, a dedicated cattle farmer, Amogelang knew from a young age that farming was her destiny.

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However, peer pressure led her to study bookkeeping after matric. Though she secured a job in the field, her passion for farming never faded.

Amogelang Pearl Malangabi from Qwaqwa, Free State, dreamed of farm life as early as the age of 8 (Morapedi Mashashe)

In 2017, she left it all behind to start Eland Green Farm in Walkerville, near Sebokeng in the Vaal.

Armed with nothing but basic garden tools and determination, she nurtured her four-hectare farm from the ground up.

Spinach, the pride of Eden Farm, is in high demand locally (Morapedi Mashashe)

"I had to ignore the naysayers. Farming has been my dream since I was a child, and with my family's support, there was no turning back," Amogelang recalls.

Eden Farm uses manure donated by neighbouring livestock farmers (Morapedi Mashashe)

Today, her farm supplies seven major supermarket brands and fresh produce markets, while also employing 15 permanent staff.

Farm workers sorting coriander for a client as farm owner Amogelang explains the desired appearance (Morapedi Mashashe)

Farm workers sorting coriander for a client (Morapedi Mashashe)

Despite growing up on a livestock farm, Amogelang is a self-taught vegetable farmer, learning from YouTube, social media, and a short course with the Gauteng Agriculture and Rural Development Department.