Beauty Manake
Botswana’s first female minister of agriculture

You don’t come from a long line of politicians. What is your family background?

That’s right. I grew up in Selibe Phikwe, a small mining town in eastern Botswana where my father was a miner. My mother stayed at home to look after my siblings and I, and when we reached our teens, she started a small import business. She travelled to South Africa where the land is greener, to buy fruits and vegetables, returning to sell them in our community. My brother and I took turns to travel with her and help her out. My parents were miles away from the political sphere, but I got there by dint of hard work, an attitude that they instilled in me.

How did you end up in a white-collar job at a diamond company?

My aunt had a strong influence on my life choices. Her son was one of the few Batswana to graduate from Harvard. She was strict, had high expectations for my academic achievements and pushed me to become a doctor. But I have always been strong-minded and I chose my own path. When I enrolled in a business and information systems course, my decision didn’t go down well with her. She told me, with a hint of sarcasm, “Good choice! Then when you graduate you can manage your mother’s tomato business”. I found this prospect ludicrous, and I was slightly offended at the time. In a funny twist of fate, here I am today the proud owner of a 35-hectare vegetable farm, and my aunt has become one of my fiercest supporters.

After university, I landed a well-paid job as systems technologist at De Beers, the diamond company. This was where every graduate dreamt of working because of the pay and the benefits, but in time, I felt out of place. When the activity slowed down during the 2008 recession, we were instructed to simply wait for the European market to pick up again, and I found this strategy frustrating and demoralising.

What first motivated your transition into farming?

After visiting hundreds of farms in South Africa with my mother, I came to appreciate the farming life. And I did the maths: with her vegetable business, my mother was making more per week than I was! I figured that if I set up a farm, my mother would not have to travel long distances anymore, and she could buy from me instead. In addition, in Botswana we are lucky to have access to a huge amount of land – our country has an area roughly the size of France for a population of only 2.1 million. Lastly, I wanted to contribute to making my country more self-reliant.

I handed in my resignation to De Beers, explaining that I wanted to be my own boss. They tried to retain me with the prospect of a secondment to the UK. However, I had enough confidence to believe that somehow, I would find my own way to Europe.

So was the process of setting up your farm as smooth as you had anticipated?

In 2013, aged 25, I applied for funding and set up Kungo Farms. The first few years were tough. My mother disapproved of my decision to “reduce myself to becoming a farmer”. She aspired for me to enjoy a more comfortable life than hers and thought I deserved a career in the corporate world. She wanted me to rock up those stilettos!

Naively, I had thought that my exposure to farming through my mother was enough but it was definitely far more challenging than I’d expected. I particularly struggled to access the market. Then, developing my venture suffered a huge setback when I had a bad car accident on my way to the farm. It took me almost 6 months to be able to walk again. I do not know what my business would have become if it hadn’t been for my father who paid my workers out of his own wages during that time.

How did the Food & Agribusiness Management degree at Audencia change your vision of agribusiness?

There came a point when I felt I’d finally grasped the agricultural production ecosystem and the immediate needs of the market. But I wanted to become properly skilled in agricultural business and be able to forecast the trends. I am fortunate that my husband – a geotechnical engineer, is as passionate about farming as I am. He encouraged me to pursue further studies to professionalise our farming enterprise. He wanted me to become a “smart educated farmer” who can make a difference.

I chose to study at Audencia because of the well-designed curriculum and the dual programme in Brazil. My sponsorship application was approved, and this is how, in September 2014, I ended up in Nantes. The curriculum was outstanding and I was especially surprised by how much I learnt about my own continent. The experience was also testing. I quickly mastered the phrase “Je ne parle pas français” but people would carry on speaking to me in French regardless! And everything was so damn expensive, which came as a shock as in Botswana, the government has provided for us most of our lives. However, I learnt the tricks of surviving on a budget.