Young farmer finds niche with gluten-free sorghum flour
Armed with a degree in Agricultural Mechanisation, one might expect to find Kelelelo Kabelo Korononeo wearing overalls, swathed in sweat and grease, a spanner in hand.
Instead, the 33-year-old is more likely to be seen in an apron, covered in flour, perhaps clutching a whisk.
Although remaining true to his Agriculture roots, the Molepolole native has taken a different route, one rarely explored locally: adding value to produce.
Formed last year out of his own pocket, Korononeo’s company, Golden Grain, produces flour with a difference – instead of wheat, he uses sorghum to make a high-quality, gluten-free product.
Working out of his home in Magokotswane ward, he uses a small scale machine to manufacture his nutritious flour, which is available in 500g quantities at P35 a bag.
“Our flour is good for gluten intolerant consumers, celiac and diabetic consumers as it has low glycemic index which helps maintain a stable blood sugar level. It is also high in fibre, which is good for digestion and weight management,” explains the forward-thinking businessman, who set-up Golden Grain after realising there were no such home-grown alternatives available.
“Forming this company, the vision was to reduce post harvest and storage loses and promote sustainable agricultural practices. We promote healthy eating from our local crops,” notes the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resource (BUAN) graduate, describing his enterprise as an SMME, but one that is slowly scaling up.
“We are still selling in the streets as a way of raising awareness on the ground before we go to retailers, but we are working on expanding early next year. The reception has been good; Batswana want the product in retail stores!” says Korononeo, adding financial constraints have stopped him from taking this step thus far.
Currently knocking on doors to seek funding, if the stars align and all goes to plan, Golden Grain flour will soon be stacked on shop shelves around the country.
He also hopes to add hospitals, government schools and bakeries to his client list.
Unlike most health-food alternatives, Korononeo’s sorghum flour is not only beneficial for the body, it tastes great too.
“Our product can be used to bake all foods, from your muffins, pancakes, cakes, biscuits etc. Our raw materials are sourced locally and we intend to empower our local farmers to grow sorghum as its climate resilient. We want to also have a bakery in future, and of recent our competition is the popular wheat flour as most consumer prefer it, but we are working on raising awareness about how nutritious and healthy our product is,” says the Golden Grain boss, whose current workforce consists of himself and a single salesperson.
In a bid to boost the product’s profile, Korononeo attends exhibitions and fairs, such as BUAN Farmers Market Day, Made in Botswana Expo, National Agricultural Show, Agro Processing and Development Expo.
To showcase his creation’s versatility, for such events, he dons his baker’s hat, whipping up a selection of delights using Golden Grain flour.
A farmer himself, Korononeo’s present focus is on growing safflower, but he intends to plant sorghum in the next ploughing season.
At the moment, he sources his sorghum from local farmers in and around Molepolole.
Having acquired the product development ‘know-how’ through training facilitated by NARDI, Korononeo returned for the national research institute’s seal of approval.
NARDI’s tests for nutritional value and hazard analysis critical control point were passed with flying colours.
The next test is to take Golden Grain nationwide…
