Diphama Malema, who holds a diploma in animal production, has started his own chicken business.. Picture Credit: Montsho Matlala
By Montsho Matlala
SESHEGO – With unemployment wreaking havoc in South Africa, especially among young people, some are refusing to sit back and despair. Instead, they are tapping into their talents and qualifications to survive.
One such bright mind is Diphama Malema, a 28-year-old aspiring farmer from Seshego Township, Polokwane, who channels his youthful energy into building a poultry business — from chickens to the machinery used to raise them.
Malema leads operations at DIY Poultry, working with two partners in the venture they registered in July last year. “But I actually started selling earlier, even before registering the company,” he adds.
He holds a diploma in animal production, which he completed in 2022 at Glen Agricultural College in Bloemfontein, Free State. While doing practical’s on farms in the Free State, he was always saddened by the high mortality rate of chicks.
“I take it as a challenge when chicks die, and since those college days, I have vowed to ensure almost all chicks survive to become broilers. Chicks need proper care all round,” says Malema.
Today, despite not having a formal industrial site, he produces broilers for the informal market. Operations run from two locations: his parental home in Seshego and another yard that DIY Poultry rents.
“I buy fertilised eggs from Johannesburg and put them in the incubator for 21 days. After 18 days, chicks have developed inside the eggs and move to the hatcher tray. When they are six weeks old, we sell them,” he explains.
DIY Poultry sells live chickens, and on order, they slaughter and package the birds. “At times, entrepreneurs in chisanyama businesses order slaughtered chickens from us,” he adds.
However, rearing chickens is not without its challenges. “When incubators break or malfunction, the birds die. So I searched for solutions until I found a way to build incubators myself. “My incubators are fitted with a small computer and fans to automatically control temperature. There is also a humidity bath set at 60%, because without humidity the eggs dry out,” he explains.
With his solution to incubator problems, he now gets calls from chicken farmers to repair and build incubators. “I don’t sell an incubator to anyone before teaching them how it works. Understanding the manual ensures durability of the product,” Malema advises.
