‘’Before creating a habitat for the worms, I’d carried out some research, and this confirmed that worms require nitrogen and carbon in their diet,” he says. READ R6 billion investment boosts world’s largest insect farm Like most worm farmers, he uses red wiggler worms (Eisenia fetida), as they thrive in compost.
The worms are housed in containers or improvised structures Lekonyane has set up four plastic bins. Their vermicast is then collected for use as a nutrient-rich compost for crops. In earthworm farming, the worms are fed litchen waste and other organic matter. ‘’I started my worm farm in early 2017, hoping this would serve as a stepping stone towards a career in agriculture, as I lacked the resources to pursue more popular forms of farming. Lekonyane started researching vermiculture and composting, discovered its role in the green economy, and learnt the basics of how to establish a worm farm.
“The farmer in the article explained how to breed worms and how he used them to create his own fertiliser,” he recalls.
While researching poultry farming, he stumbled across an article on crops that mentioned earthworm farming. In his search for work, he began considering different farming ventures. Financial problems, however, forced him to give up his studies and look for employment. In 2009, Lekonyane moved to Kanana in Hammanskraal, where he currently lives with his parents, to do an electrical engineering course. Thato Lekonyane is a self-taught worm farmer and the owner of Daddy’s Worm Farm in Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng. His grandfather was a pig and cattle farmer and sparked Lekonyane’s interest in agriculture. Lekonyane grew up in Nokaneng village in Nkangala District Municipality, Mpumalanga, where he lived with his grandparents, Moses and Mary Ntlhoro, until he matriculated in 2008.
The farm is operated as a recycling programme for food waste, and Lekonyane also hosts groups of schoolchildren to teach them about the importance of recycling in the food value chain.
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