Orange Farm man’s sunflower oil business success after Covid job loss

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Opens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowOpens in new windowEnter fullscreen mode displaying this image.ExpandCalab Baloyi, founder of Nosso Sunflower Oil, an Orange Farm-based business. He started his business after losing his job during Covid. Story audio is generated using AI

When Calab Baloyi, 37, lost his sales job during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, he did not wait for opportunity to find him.

Instead, he started farming on borrowed church land — but when the plot became too small to meet demand, he found another way to earn money: agro-processing.

Today, Baloyi is the founder of Nosso Sunflower Oil, an Orange Farm-based business that produces sunflower oil for households, tuck shops and fast-food outlets. It also turns oil-production leftovers into animal feed.

Baloyi’s journey began when he lost his corporate sales job due to the pandemic. He wasn’t sure what to do next.

His first business idea came while watching his mother work in her garden.

“I thought if I could get a bigger space and plant my own cabbages, then I could start maybe making a good income,” he said.

Baloyi approached a local church and borrowed half a hectare of land. After taking a few agricultural courses, he began planting cabbages.

But he quickly learnt that farming requires patience.

“The problem with cabbages is that they take about three to four months to grow, so I had to come up with something else that would generate income quicker,” he said.

“I switched to spinach, and with that, it went very well. We started to sell to tuck shops and street vendors and so on.”

Calab Baloyi, founder of Nosso Sunflower Oil, and his team. The oil is an orange farm based business. He started his business after losing his job during Covid. As demand for his produce grew, Baloyi faced another challenge: the church land was no longer big enough.

He had no farming experience when he started but volunteered with NGOs and learnt as much as he could.

“I also partnered with the Gauteng department of agriculture, which provided tools and seedlings,” he said.

But the land shortage remained a major obstacle. Instead of trying to secure more farmland, Baloyi decided to move into agro-processing.

Conversations with elderly ladies in the programme led Baloyi to draw up a list of basic household needs, including sugar and mealie meal. Then he remembered a sunflower programme he had been part of with the department.

“But they never went into details with it,” he said.

Nonetheless, he gave it a try and later realised he did not need a large piece of land to start.

“I looked around my community, and I realised there were a lot of fast-food restaurants around. I didn’t know how I was going to do it because there was no mentor for it; there’s no blueprint for that kind of business, so I had nobody to ask for advice,” he said.

Baloyi began experimenting, producing his first batch of sunflower oil by hand.

He took a small sample to the Vaal University of Technology’s Sebokeng campus innovation hub, where he pitched the idea and won a machine.

Baloyi named the business Nosso Sunflower Oil after his daughter, Ntsako.

The company now employs four people and sells sunflower oil to homes, tuck shops and fast-food businesses. It also processes the leftovers from oil production into animal feed, ensuring that little goes to waste.

Baloyi’s work was recognised in September 2023 when he won the Farm Worker of the Year award at the South African Agricultural Awards. He achieved further recognition by securing the Food and Beverage Innovator Award at the Township Economy Awards in November 2024.

Baloyi said he never imagined that losing his job would lead him into agriculture.

“If it wasn’t for Covid, I don’t think I would have ventured into the space,” he said.

“I always thought farming was for commercial farmers … but once I got into the field, the love I have for the industry just grew and grew.”

Baloyi said his biggest lesson was that people should not wait for perfect conditions before starting an enterprise.

“It’s OK to start small and then grow as the business grows. Most of us actually just want to start big … but the business will grow as you grow.”

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