The 2023 edition of the Food For Mzansi AgriCareers roadshow recently inspired close to 400 high school learners in the city of diamonds – Kimberley – to dream big and pursue careers in agriculture.
The career exhibition hosted at the Kimberley Technical High School attracted grade 11 and 12 pupils from more than five schools in the Northern Cape.
Karabelo Mofokeng, a grade 11 learner from Northern Cape Agricultural High School, enjoyed learning about hydroponics.
“I’ve always wanted to be in agriculture but when I told people about my dreams some would say that there are no dreams in agriculture,” Mofokeng told Food For Mzansi.
Abundance of opportunities
“But today I saw that there are many opportunities in agriculture.”
Apart from the many career opportunities locked up in the Mzansi’s agricultural fields, Mofokeng said she was in awe of the Northern Cape Entrepreneurship Academy’s GreenLab.bi initiative.
“I got to learn that there are many ways of growing plants like hydroponics. When the soil is saltier you can’t grow plants, so with hydroponics, you can grow plants without worrying about the soil,” she said.
Inside the world of hydroponics
GreenLab.bi is a hydroponics project in Northern Cape schools teaching learners about their hydroponic grow chambers.
Polycarp du Toit, managing director of Northern Cape Entrepreneurship Academy, told learners about their small, tabletop hydroponic vegetable garden units that are climate-controlled and computer-programmed.
The 2023 edition of the Food For Mzansi AgriCareers roadshow is powered by Bayer, Standard Bank, Kagiso Trust, Laeveld Agrochem, SANSOR and Health For Mzansi.
The Kimberley event exposed learners to opportunities at Agri Skills Transfer, AGRICOLLEGES international, the University of the Free State, GreenLab.bi, and the South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers (SAIAE).
AgriCareers, the beginning of new possibilities
Atlegang Lebuso from Kimberley Technical High School said she did not intend on attending the career expo hosted at her school. “But I am glad I did,” she said.
Lebuso particularly enjoyed learning about the opportunities at AGRICOLLEGES international. The online agricultural college was represented by the course delivery manager, Pieter de Villiers.
“After Mr Pieter spoke, he said we don’t exactly need life science and mathematics to study at their institution. I am considering my options now and AGRICOLLEGES is one of them,” Lebuso said.
The power of writing
Before attending AgriCareers, Kelebogile Oliphant from Vuyolwethu High School did not know that agriculture is a major contributor to job security in the country.
“I have considered being a journalist in agriculture. I am more interested in the growth of the economy, and reducing poverty and inequality.”
Oliphant wants to write about how farming contributes to the economy. She believes that through journalism, she can play an important role in society.
Roadshow inspires future engineers
Meanwhile, another learner from Vuyolwethu High School, Sipho Gumbu, listened attentively to what Gert Ehlers from the South African Institute of Agricultural Engineers (SAIAE) had to say.
“I am interested in farming but on the engineering side. What I learned is that I can do my architectural engineering in agriculture,” he said.
Gumbu also enjoyed learning about how hydroponics systems work and what it means to farm without soil.
Ehlers described what an agricultural engineer does and shared some innovative and challenging projects that he has worked on.
Learners especially enjoyed hearing about how artificial intelligence and machine learning will impact the agricultural industry in the years ahead.
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