South Africa’s agricultural education system faces criticism from industry leaders and coordinators, highlighting the urgent need for curriculum reform to align with modern practices and technology.
Malose Mokgotho, the president of the South African Agricultural Graduates Organisation (Saaga), has raised concerns over the outdated and inadequate curriculum in agricultural colleges across the country.
According to Mokgotho, the current curriculum fails to incorporate essential practical studies and neglects modern agricultural advancements such as hydroponics, agricultural engineering, and information technology.
‘Doesn’t move with the times’
“The status of the agricultural curriculum is very poor and underdeveloped, it doesn’t move with time and worse, it does not contain enough practical studies for graduates to learn on the ground,” he said.
Mokgotho pointed out that graduates are entering the workforce without crucial knowledge of new agricultural technologies and systems, contributing to high levels of unemployment among agricultural graduates.
He stressed the importance of updating the curriculum to reflect current industry trends and equip students with the skills needed to succeed in modern agriculture.
Disconnect between curriculum and industry
Meanwhile, Elijah Ramafoko, former training coordinator at the Northern Cape department of agriculture, shared the same sentiments with Mokgotho, emphasising the disconnect between the curriculum and industry standards.
Ramafoko highlighted the need for curriculum revisions that address contemporary production norms and technological advancements.
“The curriculum is not related to what industries require, technology changes many times, and the curriculum is outdated, [and] not in touch with contemporary production norms,” he said.
Ramafoko explained the importance of aligning production techniques with climatic changes to ensure sustainable agricultural practices. He cited instances of maize production failures due to intense heat, which the current curriculum fails to address.
“If the curriculum is not related to industrial standards or requirements, no meaningful impact can be expected.
“We need specialists to impact industrial production, and institutions must conduct intensive research to address the lack of scientific and technological know-how,” Ramafoko said.
Madzivhandile College of Agriculture graduate Mulweli Phaswana is currently interning at the Alicedale Estates farm in Limpopo. He too believes the agri-colleges’ curriculum is not up to date with the systems and models utilised on commercial farms.
He added that the entire focus relies on foreign research and findings which differs totally from the conditions at which agriculture is practiced on an indigenous basis.
“Technology remains partially ignored and the shift to artificial intelligence has an immense gap. In a college I went to, extension officers are used as lectures and they still abide by the old culture of learning, acts of servitude, and autocracy.
“The level is for substantial farming and a backyard. Key aspects of practical learning are not addressed,” he said.
Phaswana worries that the experience and knowledge are by far insufficient on entry-level on most farms that are commercialised, and sadly thus how far the lectures can only go.
‘Change is needed’
He told Food For Mzansi that when he joined a farm for his experiential learning, he had to start from scratch with the most utilised systems on the farm.
“If I could, I would change subject relevance, practical learning focus, the age limit for lectures involved in evolving technical subjects, the emphasis for workplace discipline in business operations, and management models.
“Overall, the department of agriculture should have strong partnerships with commercial farms and farmers to engage with them more rapidly. The department of higher education must take part in the formulation of the curriculum and learning environments and the department of agriculture can focus on offering practical learning and support,” he said.
Efforts to get a comment from government was unsuccessful by time of publishing this story.
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