His dairy farm is the result of a dream Kokstad farmer Loyiso Pepeta, 44, had and which was fulfilled by Ithala Development Finance Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial development agency.
Pepeta, formerly the chief financial officer of Ingquza Hill Local Municipality, said once business plans were in place it took just four months for Ithala to approve his loan for the farm.
It wasn’t all plain sailing and the hours are long and hard, but now Copperfield Farm supplies supermarkets and wholesalers across KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape with milk, maas and yoghurt. A factory is being built to include long-life products such as butter/ghee and to sterilise milk to meet demand.
The company, which Pepeta co-owns with his wife and uncle, has been operating for five years and has 810ha of land with more than 200 head of cattle.
The son of a pastor, Pepeta was born in Bizana in the Eastern Cape. While at Ntabankulu Junior Secondary School he found he loved numbers and chose commerce as a subject – which proved instrumental in his career.
He matriculated from Mthatha Technical College and studied accounting at Port Elizabeth Technikon. He then acquired his BTech in accounting from Durban University of Technology.
Farming
“I have always enjoyed farming and being out in the fields. Even though I went to university and got a qualification, I always wanted to be outside and not office-bound.
Pepeta’s move into farming came after he bought a tractor. While employed full-time, he put the tractor to work on land for the benefit of trusts and co-operatives.
The objective was to generate income and fast-track his loan instalments.
“After my office job, from 6pm to midnight, I would work on the land to generate revenue and build capital to use to buy my own farm.”
The father of four – two boys and two girls – guards his family time closely. His daily wake-up call is at 4am and his task list for the day ranges from tackling delivery notes, verifying production and checking machines to overseeing the milking process, counting stock and signing off on delivery.
“In my journey as an entrepreneur, I have learnt not to be influenced by peer pressure. I have also learnt to handle extreme amounts of pressure as everything depends on me.”
He attests to being a man of integrity. “Whatever I promise to do, I will surely do and if, for whatever reason, I am not able to do it anymore, I will let you know up front.”
His words of wisdom to the youth are: “Find what you love and are passionate about and work hard to make it a success”.