The time is now for young farmers to have the opportunity to participate in the mainstream economy, and the government should create an enabling environment for it, said agricultural stakeholders at the Food For Mzansi Young Farmers Indaba at the Lavender Kontrei Market in Pretoria yesterday.
The panel, consisting of bigwigs like chief executive officers of Land Bank Themba Rikhotso and AgriSETA’s Dr Innocent Shirovha, said the key takeaway is that young farmers need to invest in themselves to gain experience and take time to learn, relearn, and unlearn from experienced farmers and industry experts.
While challenges in agriculture are the order of the day, panelists like Karan Beef CEO Ivor Karan and Sappo CEO Dr Peter Evans said there is a great need to explore practical solutions so that the next generation of farmers can step forward with confidence and resilience.
Importance of skills and education
Rikhotso shared that one of the biggest mistakes farmers still make is starting big with something they have no experience in. He added that they also fail to invest in and acquire the necessary skills to succeed.
“Skills knowledge is one of the most important values to a business plan; we also need the other solutions that farmers need,” he said.
Rikhotso said that in the past 12 months, the bank has approved more than R2 billion worth of blended finance funding for farmers.
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Pascal Siphugu, the managing director of Land Bank Insurance Company, said that as a start in making sure farmers are ready to go commercial, they opened a farmers’ academy and trained about 2 000 farmers – half of whom were young female farmers – on climate change sustainability and strategies.
Both non-commercial and commercial farmers are affected by climate change, however, commercial farmers have the infrastructure and capacity to sustain their enterprises against its impact.
“For non-commercial farmers, more support is required. And I think that’s where the government comes in – to work with us as the private sector to make this insurance product more accessible to small-scale farmers,” he said.
Sirovha added that ordinary farmers need education, particularly through their partnership with Land Bank.
“Land Bank says that by 2028, they must have reached 50% in terms of supporting people from disadvantaged communities. The work that we, as leaders, are here to do involves partnerships between both the private and public sectors,” he said.
He also pointed out that agricultural academies cannot achieve growth without proper equipment. “The agricultural college in Limpopo has no equipment. Learners struggle when they have to do practicals.”
Investment in agriculture
Meanwhile, Ayanda Nhlapo, the tactical marketing planner for small agriculture and high-value crops at John Deere, said they have invested heavily over the years in developing technology to make farming easier.
“Our technology collects data from the field for your operations, transfers it to the cloud, and, through our John Deere Operations Centre, which is accessible on the farmer’s device, provides data that is translated into insights, giving you real-time information to support decision-making,” he said.
Karan shared that one of Karan Beef’s success stories is that it chose their industry early in their business journey. This allowed them to learn over time and make mistakes, which are part of business growth.
“We reinvested our profits for 51 years, and we continue to reinvest in our own business. This allows us to sustain growth,” he said.
Biosecurity continues to be a threat to agriculture. Evans said 2021, marked by the African swine fever outbreak, was a year when many people learned valuable lessons, especially about securing their farms by using disinfectants and proper protective clothing.
“Unfortunately, there is only one solution. As a society, we all need to stick to the rules and regulations,” he said.
Marthinus Stander, CEO of Rainbow Chicken Ltd, encouraged young farmers to collaborate with key stakeholders to help South Africa unlock its full agricultural potential and expand into international markets. Rainbow Chicken, along with EPOL, Land Bank, AgriSETA, and SAPPO, also took part in the 2025 Mzansi Young Farmers Indaba.
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