Senwes Scenario February / March 2016 | Page 20

••• NEWS Phillip Mukhithi discussing farming issues with Senwes Agronomist, Julias Ramohlabi. So passionate is he that he even names his Brahmans, with Chris being his first Brahman and Chief his next. “But sadly Chris is now gone.” MAIZE Maize-wise Philip currently plants less than 100 hectares on his farm, but he is currently looking for another farm with between 200 and 300 hectares of arable land. He laughs as he remembers his journey: “I thought success was when the trailer was full of maize. Little did I know.” He only discovered the meaning of high tonnages later and now he sometimes gets as much as 3 tons per hectare. SENWES One thing that he learned in business is that “you need people to assist you.” Here he is grateful for the assistance from Senwes, particularly from Senwes Agronomist, Julias Ramohlabi. Julias worked hand-in-hand with Phillip, mentoring him about fertilisers and resource evaluation. “It was something I never expected.” He further educates himself by attending all training and study opportunities offered by Senwes. Julias confirms that “Phillip is truly committed.” There is a special relationship between Senwes and Phillip. DIVERSIFY Phillip tells us that he wants to diversify his business through farming. He admits that his current talent and knowledge relate to the security industry. That is why he introduced his daughter, Livhuwani (26), to farming. His idea is to let her run the farm so that she can learn what to do, and at the same time assist him and relieve some of the pressure. Livhuwani talks about the pressure on her father. “He is a committed worker and pushes himself harder each and every day. He made me love farming.” HIS MOTTO Phillip learned that “to make money in farming you must be focused.” He said that in 2014 he had a bad year, but he stayed true to his motto to persevere. “I do not want to associate with failure. I always complete what I’m busy with.” Another thing is that he doesn’t back down from a challenge. “You face it and overcome it.” And through it all, there is one thing that Phillip teaches us all and that is that in business you need talent and love. Or in his case, a talent for security and a love for farming. In a way he represents the future because with farming becoming part of the global picture, it will also move towards becoming an area at which investors will look with a view to diversifying their brands. Phillip appeared on the recent Nation in Conversation series of Senwes. Readers can access the episode on Youtube at https://youtu.be/iZxwiQCiinA. One of the stud Brahmans on Phillip’s farm. 18 Feb/Mar 2016 • SENWES Scenario