“The love for agriculture is growing among our learners. Five years ago only a few learners were doing agricultural subjects but now most of the learners fell in love with agriculture thanks to Food For Mzansi and their amazing initiative.” These are the words of Mofokeng Tsietsi, a teacher at Itokisetseng Bokamoso Secondary School in Hobhouse, following the Free State leg of Food For Mzansi’s 2024 AgriCareers roadshow held in Tweespruit on Wednesday.
Over 1 000 learners gathered to participate in the AgriCareers roadshow, which was hosted at Unicom Agricultural High School. The event was chock-a-block, with a full house and standing room only. Hundreds more waited eagerly outside the venue for their turn.
Learners from deep rural areas in the Free State had the opportunity to engage with representatives from Standard Bank, the University of the Free State, Afrivet and Tangible Africa, exploring diverse career paths in agriculture, from coding to plant breeding, journalism, and banking. The 2024 AgriCareers roadshow is backed by AgriSETA and Standard Bank. Food for Mzansi has already reached over 90 000 learners since it launched AgriCareers in 2019.
According to Tsietsi, who teaches agricultural sciences, the AgriCareers roadshow was a game-changer for their learners.
“Most of the learners here today were not aware of all the careers in agriculture. Their minds are now open to more possibilities to explore careers they never thought existed,” he said.
Unveiling endless possibilities in agriculture
Khensani Nkosi, a grade 12 learner at Unicom Agricultural Secondary School, shared her excitement after attending the AgriCareers roadshow.
“The event opened my eyes to so many careers that I am not even sure about what I want to do anymore.
“There are so many options for me to choose. But I know I will find a career in this sector that I love and enjoy,” Nkosi said.
Meanwhile, Professor Adré Minnaar-Ontong, the head of plant breeding at the University of Free State, could not contain her excitement after interacting with the learners at the Food for Mzansi career fair.
“Wow! What an experience,” exclaimed Minnaar-Ontong. “After talking to so many learners at the Food for Mzansi career fair, I am certain that our future is safe, judging by the enthusiasm of these learners and the passion they have for agriculture.”
Rethinking career advice at school level
Minnaar-Ontong, however, raised concerns about student subject choices and the potential impact on future academic and career opportunities.
“Most of these learners have mathematics literacy, where mathematics is required. Some at an 80-90% level. This might ruin the chances of those who want to pursue an agricultural degree to get into university.
“My question to those learners was: ‘If you perform so well in maths literacy, why did you not consider maths?’ Their answers: ‘We were told to take maths literacy as it is easier to obtain higher marks’. It is clear that career advice should be revised at school level,” she said.
Empowering future agricultural leaders
Meanwhile, Jannie Brink, a teacher at Unicom Agricultural Secondary School, praised Food For Mzansi for their positive initiative in reconnecting learners with agriculture.
“I’m very positive about the outcome. We were very well supported, and we had a lot of good feedback from the students as well,” he said.
Brink also shared insights into the specialised education offered at Unicom, where a strong emphasis is placed on agriculture.
“We do a lot of motivation into agriculture. They either go strictly into agriculture or they go into a technical vocational direction,” he said.
Next stop: North West
The AgriCareers roadshow is in full swing, with the next stop set for Itsoseng village, near Lichtenburg in North West. A huge turnout is also anticipated in Itsoseng on Friday, 12 April, where the career exhibition will be hosted at the SA Living Water Ministry.
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