THERE is a big demand for agricultural professionals in Mzansi but very few are choosing this career.
Over two-thirds of people in Africa rely on agriculture as their source of income and food supply yet, in spite of this, the quality of education in the agriculture sector is not where it should be.
The demand for skilled people in the sector is growing, while the number of students enrolling in agriculture-related training continues to decrease – Africa’s agricultural education is failing to produce a new wave of farmers.
Howard Blight, CEO and Founder of Agricolleges International, believes we need to bring back the youth to agriculture by talking in a language they understand.
The 2017 unemployment figures recently released by Stats SA , paint a worrying picture of the Mzansi job market.
They show that the country’s unemployment rate is the highest in nearly 14 years at 27,7%. Using the expanded unemployment rate, there are now 9,3 million unemployed people looking for work between January and March.
“We are a newly-formed, modern, cloud-based e-learning institution. We aim to change the mindset that farming is a less attractive career option for the youth market.”
“While we still need to plough the land, these days farmers use agricultural machinery. Farm equipment has witnessed a radical technological makeover from the days of hand-held devices such as trimmers, ploughs and saws to the modern-day computer-controlled, GPS-monitored and self-driving machines.”
He said contrary to popular beliefs, agriculture was actually a very exciting place to be right now.
Mark Hassenkamp, the owner of Red Sun Hortitech, an innovative nursery just outside Tzaneen, said the big agricultural debate regarding the use of land was only going to be answered through creating the skills base to sustain the demand required to make agriculture itself sustainable.
Facilities at many agricultural colleges in Africa are old and outdated, and curricula have not kept up with changes in the industry. The result is that there aren’t enough good quality graduates at diploma level and our farms lack the skills to take agriculture into the future.
Blight said: “By taking traditional ways of learning and combining them with technology and up-to-date content, we aim to give young people an opportunity to get involved in a growing industry where their critically-needed skills are needed and appreciated, where they can be constantly connected to exciting growth trends and technology.”