The winner of this year’s Western Cape Prestige Agri Awards, Nigel Klaasen, has dedicated his prize to the memory of his late mother, Elizabeth Klaasen, who was raped and murdered on a farm in 2004.
Klaasen – a production manager for Fruitways in Elgin in the Overberg district – says he suppressed his mother’s gruesome death for years, but on Saturday night when his name was called out as the winner, he burst out into tears. It would have been his late mother’s 58th birthday.
“For the longest time I wondered why people would cry when they win big prizes,” he admits. “I thought they were just acting. Now I experienced first-hand that you have no control over what happens to you. The tears just burst out of me. I have never experienced anything like this.”
If heaven had a television, Klaasen says he has no doubt that his mother would’ve been elated watching how he beat 993 other contestants for the grand prize.
Turning grief into victory
“There was a stage where I didn’t want to think about her death anymore. And then on Saturday night I was overcome with emotion. She would have been very, very proud. She fought many battles on my behalf. She just wanted to see me move forward in life.”
It was Klaasen who discovered his mother’s body on Viljoenskop, a neighbouring farm about five kilometres from Lorraine where the family stayed at the time. “It haunted me for years, but everything makes sense now. I have made peace. It made me a stronger person too.”
Klaasen’s partner, Yvette Kayser, says it was an emotional moment to hear the Western Cape agriculture minister call his name as the competition’s big winner. “It meant a lot to him. Not a day goes by without him speaking about what he wants to achieve in agriculture. Since we’ve met, it has always been his passion and he lives it every day.”
Kayser adds the mere fact that Klaasen mentioned his mother’s name in his acceptance speech, is an indicator of how much the award means to him. “He was terribly emotional. His mom’s death and the way it happened has always been a sensitive matter. He could never even celebrate her birthday, so it’s a big moment.”
Being a part of food security in Mzansi
Hosted by the Western Cape government, the annual Prestige Agri Awards acknowledges the contribution that agricultural workers make to the sustainability and growth of the agricultural sector in the province. Amongst other prizes, Klaasen walked away with R5 000 in cash as well as a R3 000 gift voucher from Shoprite.
Klaasen tells Food For Mzansi that he comes from a proud agricultural family. “Agriculture has always been a passion for me. My father, Mervyn Klaasen, was a production foreman at one point, and I looked up to him. It inspired me so much.”
Even during his school days, Klaasen used to tell his fellow classmates that one day he wanted to be a farmer.
“The guys laughed when I said, ‘Ek wil boer.’ They heard [the word] boer and assumed I wanted a different skin colour, but little did they know I wanted to be part of food security in South Africa.”
He first started working as a general worker on Grabouw’s Monteith farm in 2013. However, with a can-do attitude and teachable spirit he quickly rose through the ranks. Since, he has gained wide experience as a tractor driver, sprayer operator, team leader, forklift driver, and even irrigation assistant before landing a managerial position.
This is his eighth year working for Fruitways, a specialist producer, packer and marketer of fresh apples and pears.
The land has always been sacred to him, Klaasen adds. “Even as a child I wanted to understand how a fruit comes from the tree. The soil is an anchor for a plant, but it is also a habitat for many other things. I told myself I wasn’t going to let my circumstances rob me of my dream.”
‘Living my dream’
The Prestige Agri Award inspires him to achieve even greater heights in agriculture, says Klaasen, noting that he first arrived on the farm without any tertiary training.
“Today I am responsible for everything that happens on the unit – from fertilisers and sprays, irrigation, people management, all the operating costs and productivity actions that take place on the farm are my responsibility. The buck stops with me.
“The farm under my wing is about 60ha in size. At first, I didn’t have any pears, but about two months ago they decided to give me a piece of pears as well. So, I farm a bit with apples, all the latest varieties, and pears.”
Klaasen says Fruitways gives him the rare opportunity to live his dream.
“I always say I don’t work a day in my life because I’m living my dream. I want to make a difference too. To be able to cause a change in someone else’s life, to be able to transform raw potential into success…
“It happened to me, and I want to make sure that I clear a forest road for the younger generation so that one day they will walk on tarmac.”
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