After nearly 40 years, Johan Hanekom (70) and his wife from Brits decided to settle in Broederstroom. Johan had farmed peppers and cucumbers for many years. In Broederstroom, he wanted to focus on growing herbs and marketing a grow light he developed.

The couple had indeed hung up their farming hats to rest. However, Johan first needed to test his grow light, and for that, he needed a greenhouse. In Broederstroom, they found a neglected farm that had not been farmed for years. They decided to make it their new home.

“But you know that farmer’s spirit; we just wanted to try something, and later, we ended up with a whole piece of land in production again. It was a lucky shot, as we actually just wanted to take it easy,” Johan says with a laugh.

And so, Thysaan Farming was established two years ago. Johan now farms five hectares intensively with strawberries and peppers under irrigation.

Local manufacturing is pure pleasure

Johan attributes part of the success on his farm so far to Afriq Water’s products. In August 2024, two well-known irrigation companies, Irrigation Unlimited and Afriq Water, joined forces to offer more to farmers. Irrigation Unlimited is now also the proud distributor of Afriq Water’s reliable products.

Johan shares that he used a different brand for many years and came across Afriq Water products one day while buying packaging materials. Intrigued, he decided to buy two rolls of drip tape.

Since then, he has transitioned his farming to using Afriq Water products. Today, he has four sprinkler lines and has installed over 100 000 drip irrigation lines on his farm. At Thysaan Boerdery, they rely on Afriq Water’s sprinkler and drip lines, as well as the HDPE gold coupling systems.

Precise water supply

Afriq Water’s drip irrigation is designed to ensure that water reaches the roots of your plants. The systems can be set to deliver a specific amount of water per hour. Johan explains that the soil in Broederstroom is different from what he was used to in Brits.

He had to quickly learn how to make the rocky clay soil work for him. Therefore, he uses the sprinkler lines to wet the soil before they start planting. After that, drip irrigation is set up for the strawberries and bell peppers.

The bell peppers are quite fussy, and Johan explains that he cannot use sprinkler irrigation on them, “because they do not like wet leaves.” The drip irrigation ensures that water goes directly to the plants’ roots. Johan is proudly South African, so he enjoys working with a company that manufactures all its products locally. Afriq Water produces irrigation pipes in 12 mm or 16 mm sizes with different wall thicknesses to control water flow.

“One should not forget; a farmer knows what he wants to use. I was pleasantly surprised by the excellent product information available on their website,” he says.

Initially, he used 0,15 mm pipes to irrigate his strawberries, but he realised it was not sufficient, especially for the strawberries that remain for three years.

He then decided to switch to 0,4 mm pipes, which deliver two liters per hour instead of one, as this helps Johan leach his soils more effectively. Johan lays these drip lines in two rows under the plastic covering his strawberries to prevent water from evaporating too quickly and to keep the soil moist. He also uses his sprinkler lines occasionally to give the strawberries an extra boost when the sun gets too hot.

Products that last

One of the products that stand out to Johan is Afriq Water’s HDPE gold-coupling pipes, and he says the couplings are absolutely excellent. The coupling systems are a durable and cost-effective replacement for steel pipe systems.

“I am not exactly a youngster anymore; we come from the days of old steel pipes, and sometimes aluminium pipes. The problem with those was that people started stealing the couplings to sell as scrap metal,” he says.

One day, he noticed Afriq Water’s pipes in another farmer’s fields and decided to learn more about them and where to get them.

“They just handle so much better than steel because they are so light. Their gold coupling pipes are an absolute winner; I hope people use them all over South Africa.

“I will recommend these products to anyone who asks me. I truly wish these people great success,” says Johan.

To inquire about Afriq Water products, please visit the Irrigation Unlimited website at www.iunlimited.co.za or contact the Pretoria branch at (+27)12-736-2121 or the Cape Town branch at (+27)21-946-1194.