Calab Baloyi (35), from Orange Farm, Johannesburg, turned a corporate setback into an agricultural achievement.
Baloyi is the owner of Nosso Sunflower Oil Pty Ltd, a business that he started in 2019 after losing his corporate sales job due to Covid-19 pandemic.
His company manufacture Premium Sunflower Cooking Oil, available in 5L, 10L, and 20L. The remaining sunflower oil is sold as animal feed to poultry and piggery farmers.
Baloyi was inspired by his mother’s small garden to start his own farming venture.
“After losing my job, I had no capital for any of the ideas I had. Watching my mother planting vegetables in her small space made me realised that the answer was right in front of me. If I could find land and farm on a larger scale, I could build a sustainable business.”
Baloyi approached a local church which granted him 1,500 square meters of land, where he initially grew spinach and cabbage, selling to streets vendors and Boxer supermarket at Eyethu Mall in Orange Farm.
“I expanded the business to a sunflower manufacturing company, focusing on a model where we sell directly to fast food businesses in the township of Orange Farm and surrounding areas,” he said.
He adds that although he receives sunflower seeds from an external service provider, his company focuses on manufacturing the oil.
In 2023, the business received assist from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) through their Vaal University of Technology programme.
“All the funds that we receive at GDARD were used to procure our Sunflower Oil extraction machines.”
The business also received assistance from National Youth Development Agency in 2023 and they used the funding to procure more extraction machines and office equipment.
His business currently employs four people.
Quality and innovation
Baloyi’s dedication has earned the business several awards for its commitment to quality and innovation.
In 2023, the business won the Farm Worker of the Year in the South African Agricultural Awards. It also won the Small and Medium Enterprise Toolkit South Africa Business plan competition in 2024.
The business also won Youth in Agriculture, Best Agro processor of the year in the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development awards in 2024.
Baloyi said, Nosso Sunflower Oil is more than just a business—it's a catalyst for change. He is passionate about empowering individuals to develop their own products, nurturing a generation of creators instead of mere consumers.
For more information contact
Calab Baloyi on 083 881 8020
Facebook: Nosso-Sunflower oil
Instagram: @nosso_sunfloweroil
Contact the NYDA at www.nyda.gov.za
GDARD can be reached at www.gauteng.gov.za
Email
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp