…as lecturer-turned-farmer scoops international award in Kenya
…now employs 50 workers and runs six agricultural ventures
Seithati Motšoeneng
WHAT began as a disappointing harvest of 200 cabbages during the Covid-19 pandemic has blossomed into a thriving agricultural enterprise for Dr Mampiti Matete, who is determined to prove that farming can be a profitable, modern and transformative business.
Dr Matete, a former university lecturer who ventured into commercial farming, now runs Matpit Farm, a diversified agricultural enterprise with 21,000 laying hens producing more than 600 trays of eggs daily. The farm also has dairy cows, an apple orchard, vegetables grown under shade nets and a budding apiculture project.
Her success has recently earned her international recognition, with Dr Matete being named the Overall Winner of the AAMECC Network Honours Award in Nairobi, Kenya, for excellence in agricultural business last month.
But behind the growing enterprise is a journey marked by setbacks, limited resources and a determination to challenge the widespread perception that farming is a pathway to poverty rather than prosperity.
“I started with just two employees helping with the 200 cabbages. When we introduced the laying hens, we hired four more workers, followed by a driver. Today, we employ around 30 permanent staff and approximately 20 seasonal workers,” Dr Matete says.
Her transformation from an academic to a commercial farmer was driven by a desire to bridge the gap between agricultural theory and practice, address Lesotho’s food insecurity and create a business that could provide opportunities for her family and other Basotho.
As a lecturer in agricultural and environmental economics at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) from 1995, Dr Matete taught students, many of whom were mature farmers with practical experience. Their candid responses often challenged the theories she taught in class.
“Madam, on the ground, it doesn’t work that way—it works like this,” she recalls her students telling her.
Those exchanges made her realise how far classroom knowledge could be removed from the realities facing farmers, particularly those operating on a small scale.
She also became increasingly concerned about the lack of model farms in Lesotho where students could observe agricultural concepts in practice. The university often had to organise field trips to South Africa, while securing internship opportunities for students proved equally difficult.
“I felt that as educators training the next generation, we also needed to provide tangible solutions,” she says.
The idea of establishing a model farm that would allow students to gain practical experience gradually took shape.
However, her ambitions were strengthened by personal circumstances. While pursuing her PhD at the University of South Africa, her second-born son was diagnosed with autism.
Dr Matete says the experience forced her to think about his future and the challenges he might face finding a safe and supportive workplace.
“I realised how difficult it would be to find a safe and supportive workplace for my son. That rekindled my desire to build something of our own—a place where he could work safely and contribute to our family’s future,” she explains.
She temporarily relocated to South Africa to access therapeutic care for her son, where she subsequently held several positions, including heading the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in South Africa under a two-year contract.
Despite the professional opportunities, her dream of establishing a farm in Lesotho remained firmly in her sights.
“By the end of that contract, I knew I had to return home and turn my dream into reality,” she says.
From cabbages to commercial poultry
The first steps towards building Matpit Farm were taken in 2020, when Dr Matete and her family planted 200 cabbages on six hectares of land.
The results were disappointing. Poor soil conditions, limited agricultural expertise and a shortage of capital made it difficult to achieve the production levels she had hoped for.
Her dream of producing table eggs commercially appeared even more distant, but she continued experimenting with different agricultural activities.
Using two shade nets measuring 15 by 30 metres each, she successfully cultivated tomatoes and green peppers, laying the foundation for the next phase of her business.
In 2022, she secured funding from the Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP), enabling her to purchase laying hens, a feed silo and an egg-grading machine.
She began the poultry operation with 6200 layers. The enterprise has since expanded to 21,000 birds, producing more than 600 trays of eggs every day.
The growth of the business has also created employment, with approximately 30 permanent workers and 20 seasonal employees benefiting from its operations.
Beyond poultry, Dr Matete has continued diversifying her activities through dairy farming, apple production, vegetable cultivation and beekeeping.
Rewriting the farming narrative
Despite her achievements, Dr Matete says one of her biggest battles has been overcoming the negative perceptions surrounding agriculture in Lesotho.
Growing up in a rural area, she witnessed families working hard on their fields without necessarily escaping poverty. Those experiences initially left her with an aversion to farming.
“I used to detest it with a passion. Growing up in a rural area, no matter how hard we worked, we remained poor,” she recalls.
She now wants to demonstrate that agriculture can be a sophisticated and profitable business capable of generating wealth, creating jobs and contributing to national food security.
Her determination to present farming differently, however, has not always been welcomed. Some people mocked her ambitions, with others labelling her a “slay queen” and questioning whether she was a genuine farmer.
Rather than being discouraged, Dr Matete has used the criticism to strengthen her resolve to change the image of agriculture and attract more young people into the sector.
Her recent award in Nairobi has added momentum to that ambition.
“Receiving an accolade like this is deeply meaningful,” she says.
Addressing the audience at the award ceremony, she boldly declared: “I am going to become the first black female billionaire in agriculture.”
She says the recognition represents more than an individual achievement.
“To me, this is monumental not just for myself, but for every woman in Lesotho,” she shares.
Dr Matete believes documenting and sharing success stories is essential to changing attitudes towards farming. While she acknowledges that convincing some older farmers to abandon familiar practices may be difficult, she believes younger farmers can be inspired by visible examples of commercial success.
“Documenting and sharing success stories is key to inspiring others,” she asserts.
She also encourages farmers to consider diversifying beyond traditional staples such as maize, sorghum and wheat into cash crops and other agricultural enterprises with stronger commercial potential.
For Dr Matete, diversification is not only about increasing income but also about building resilience in an industry increasingly exposed to unpredictable weather conditions.
Infrastructure remains a major obstacle
Despite her farm’s growth, Dr Matete says agricultural entrepreneurs in Lesotho continue to face serious infrastructural challenges that undermine productivity and access to markets.
Climate change remains a concern, particularly for farmers whose crops and livestock are vulnerable to extreme weather. At Matpit Farm, she has invested in protective shade nets to shield vegetables from hail and intense sunlight.
The poultry operation uses temperature-controlled, well-ventilated houses to create more suitable conditions for the laying hens, while careful site planning forms part of her broader risk-management strategy.
However, she says infrastructure remains among the most formidable obstacles to expansion.
Poorly maintained roads make it difficult to reach markets during the rainy season, while inadequate electricity and water supplies increase the cost and complexity of agricultural production.
She finds the water shortages particularly frustrating in a country widely regarded as a regional water tower.
“Ultimately, we are on our own. While the government provides occasional input subsidies and minor grants, we are left to struggle with prohibitively expensive infrastructure, such as roads and water supply,” she remarks.
Her experience highlights the difficulties facing farmers who want to move beyond subsistence production but must contend with the high costs of developing and maintaining the infrastructure needed to run commercial operations.
A farm with a bigger purpose
Beyond commercial production, Matpit Farm is gradually becoming a centre for practical agricultural learning.
The farm hosts student interns who gain hands-on experience, helping to address the gap between academic instruction and the realities of agricultural production that Dr Matete identified during her years in academia.
It has also attracted farmers who discovered her work through social media and have since visited to learn from her experience.
For Dr Matete, this growing interest reflects the potential of successful farms to inspire others and demonstrate that agriculture can offer a viable career and business opportunity.
“I am profoundly grateful that after leaving formal employment, I chose agriculture. It has granted me the opportunity to fulfil my lifelong passion to inspire others. We truly have the power to feed ourselves,” she says.
Her long-term ambition is to continue expanding the business, diversifying production and adding value to agricultural products rather than relying solely on selling raw produce.
She believes these strategies will be crucial to building a larger and more sustainable enterprise.
“I believe I am already on the right trajectory. If we continue to expand, diversify, and add value to our produce, I will undoubtedly become a billionaire,” she says.