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Feeding the nation one Agrico pivot at a time: Seunkie Maseko and Moosa Ngwenya

by Natasha Pretorius

For Moosa Ngwenya and Seunkie Maseko, farming is about more than just growing crops. It is about the broader responsibility of feeding a nation and helping build a country.

“We have a country to feed, and we have a country to build,” says Moosa.

“As farmers, you wake up in the morning, and you don’t only think about the crops, but also about the people you have to feed. It’s all about food security. If we make some profit, we will be looking into replacing some of our older pivots with Agrico pivots,” he adds.

At Elmboog Farm near Komatipoort, one of Agrico’s centre pivots is helping make that goal a reality. Farm Manager Seunkie Maseko and Section Leader Moosa Ngwenya, who oversees a dedicated 16-person team, have seen first-hand the difference the pivot has made to their sugarcane production.

The first Agrico pivot in Komatipoort

To grow a successful sugarcane crop, you need sun and a lot of water. This makes Komatipoort the ideal area for sugarcane farmers. With a maturing sugarcane crop needing between 1 200 mm and 1 500 mm of water per growing cycle, applying this water correctly is essential.

In early 2024, Elmboog Farm found itself facing a challenge: an older centre pivot had to be replaced. After evaluating suppliers, the team decided to buy an Agrico centre pivot – the first in the area! 

This was, according to Moosa, the pivot with the best build quality and cost-effectiveness.

By March 2024, a custom-designed 10-tower Agrico pivot was fully installed and operational across 80 hectares on the farm. From the initial phone call to full installation, the process took just three weeks.

An added benefit for the team was the Agrico centre pivot’s height clearance. Sugarcane can easily reach heights of up to three metres, and this meant that the four-metre height clearance of the Agrico centre pivot would not damage the mature sugarcane crops.

Increased production under the Agrico pivot

The team says that the Agrico centre pivot has already proven its value in the less than two years it has been on the farm.

The specific centre pivot is used on an older sugarcane field. One would expect the field to degrade over time, but with the Agrico centre pivot, it seems this field has some new life.

Over the past two years, average yield across the farm grew from 95 tonnes per hectare to 120 tonnes per hectare. On the block managed by the Agrico pivot specifically, production surged from roughly 105 tonnes per hectare to 125 tonnes per hectare.

“When you drive around the pivot, you feel happy because you know this pivot is performing miracles. It is doing something that you really did not expect,” says Seunkie.

But the team from Elmboog Farm explains that their satisfaction with Agrico does not stop with the centre pivot. Apart from fast and efficient service, they say they know they can trust the Agrico team to be there when they need them.

Agrico provides the added benefit

Beyond the convenience and reliability of the app, Seunkie says the physical engineering of the Agrico system has provided unforeseen savings.

He explains that the sprinkler system on the Agrico delivers precise and uniform water distribution, which provides for consistent cane growth across all 80 hectares.

The lighter frame of the Agrico also allows the pivot to manoeuvre effortlessly, even in wet field conditions where other centre pivots would snag.

Since the installation of the Agrico centre pivot, the team has experienced no tyre issues, proving the advantages of the pivot’s reduced machine mass.

Data-driven irrigation makes the difference

Managing irrigation at Elmboog Farm begins with precise irrigation tracking. Crop water requirements fluctuate between summer and winter, necessitating a reliable system to measure and apply water.

Planning the correct irrigation is a science, and at Elmboog, the team follows a tight schedule.

First, they monitor an on-site weather station and soil probes to determine daily water requirements and current moisture levels.

Instead of adjusting parameters manually at the physical pivot panel, where human error can creep in, supervisors log straight into the Agrico mobile app to configure the exact millimetre application required.

Once the pivot completes its pass, the team checks the probes and weather station again to verify that the target moisture profile was achieved.

“With this pivot, we haven’t had any problems in terms of reapplication because it gives us the exact requirements we need,” notes Moosa. “It is a simple and convenient app to use.”

If you want to see the difference on your farm, visit the Agrico website at https://agrico.co.za/ to get in contact with one of Agrico’s experts.

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