R330 000 gone. 110 pigs drowned. 750 chickens dead. Siphesihle Kwetana’s third and most promising farm was flattened by floods in the Eastern Cape. Her loss isn’t just personal — it ripples through her community
In the heart of the Eastern Cape, just outside Mthatha in the village of Kaplan, Siphesihle Kwetana’s farm bustled with life. Then came the rain on 10 June 2025. By 13:00 the following day, her farm was completely under water, and her piggery had vanished beneath the flood.
“I got a call at 7 a.m. One of my workers who stays in the village said she couldn’t get to work. There was too much water. She sent me a video… I didn’t believe what I was seeing and feared the worst,” says the owner of Sideca (Pty) Ltd.
Kwetana is a multi-award-winning young farmer. After failing matric in 2013, she initially started selling traditional meals from a container in Mthatha. When that business shut down, she pivoted to farming, seeing a gap in the local vegetable supply.
At just 30 years old, this is her third farm. The first two, she says, came with challenges. This one was supposed to be the breakthrough. A turning point.
“I was at that stage now where I was finally harvesting the fruits of my labour. But then… I went back to zero. It’s devastating.”
R330 000 gone overnight
In total, 110 pigs died – 70 adult pigs and 40 piglets. All of them were ready for the market. All of them had already been paid for, she says
