Agri’s Got Talent 2024 crowned Chester Fisch as this year’s winner in the grand finale. A seasonal worker from Mountain Ridge in Wolseley, Western Cape, Fisch wowed the crowd with his energetic rendition of Michael Jackson’s “The way you make me feel,” securing the top spot in the competition.
The AGT 2024 finale was held on Friday night, 11 October, at Dawn Mountains, Simondium. Organisers say it was not only Fisch’s extraordinary vocal abilities that impressed, his dancing skills and showmanship all contributed to making Fisch a worthy winner of Agri’s Got Talent 2024.
His second song, the politically inspired “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (1964), could not be more apt in speaking to the heart and soul of South Africa’s agricultural community.
Fisch said earlier in an interview with Food for Mzansi that he believed in the future of agriculture, “because the world was built on it, and the world cannot survive without it.”
“People need to eat and that is why farming is important. I want to contribute towards promoting agriculture, especially amongst the youth.”
When music and agriculture come together
When not hard at work on the farm, Fisch is equally passionate about music. By winning the competition he hopes to advance his music career and wants to help young artists grow and develop their talent.
“I am versatile and would like to grow in all areas when it comes to music,” he said. For Fisch, participating in Agri’s Got Talent was not about winning, but learning and growing as an artist.
“In every competition, there are no winners or losers. We are all learners,” he said.
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Meanwhile, Chantel Boonzaaier from DGB (Ltd) Franschhoek, took second place, and Sandile Mathebula from Macdaring Farm, Nelspruit, came third.
The Agri’s Got Talent judges said the 2024 competition was the toughest one to date, with a very small margin separating the top three.
Lungelo Sithole from KMI Farming in Nelspruit won the prize for the best singer in an indigenous language, awarded by the Afrikaans Language Council (Afrikaanse Taalraad).
Her version of Zahara’s “Xa bendingena Mama” was a powerhouse performance second to none. The lyrics, in isiXhosa, are a tribute to Zahara’s mother who passed away.
The chief executive officer of Afrikaans Taalraad (ATR), Dr Conrad Steenkamp, said Agri’s Got Talent is a unique project that gives people from the agricultural sector a chance to sing in their mother tongue.
“In South Africa, we have several indigenous languages to be proud of, Afrikaans being one of them. We pass on our language to our children through singing. It is not just about Afrikaans, it is about encouraging and supporting the arts in the mother tongue,” he said.
A chance for agri-workers to shine
Agri’s Got Talent was started in 2013 by Hortgro, the South African deciduous fruit industry organisation. This was the 11th year of the project, which is sponsored by Hortgro, Citrus Growers’ Association, South African Table Grape Industry, SA Wine and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.
The project is also supported by Fruitfly Africa, BerriesZA and Culdeco.
Thea van Zyl, Agri’s Got Talent project coordinator, said the project is more than a singing competition, it is also about skills development. Skills the contestants take back to their homes, farms and communities.
“It is about building bridges and inspiring talented agricultural workers to reach for their dreams. Agri-workers are the backbone of the fruit and wine industries, the unsung heroes, and Agri’s Got Talent gives them a platform to be heard,” Van Zyl said.
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