According to Ivan Meyer, Agriculture MEC The Western Cape Agriculture Department has spent R53.7 million on programmes to develop youth for the advancement of agriculture. “Over the past five years, 993 beneficiaries gained from our bursaries, scholarships, internships, exchange programmes and the Young Professional Persons Programme,” he said.
“Thirty rural youth benefited from the Agricultural Partnership for Youth Development project, which places beneficiaries in a one-year internship, and 41 student and graduate interns were taken up in the department’s work-integrated learning programme,” said Daniel Johnson, Meyer’s spokesperson.
Meyer said the department signed 100 memoranda of understanding with farmers and agricultural entities who would employ the beneficiaries. “These agreements expanded the human capital programmes throughout the province and specifically in rural areas. The first group of 14 officials, interns and students are in the process of obtaining their remote pilot licence (RPL), which will qualify them to fly a drone legally,” said Meyer. The combination of RPL and an agricultural qualification would open a whole range of career opportunities in the sector.
The MEC’s paid a visit to the youth tunnel farmer where Byron Booysen, Tunnel Farmer and a recipient of funding, confirmed that he has benefitted from the youth programme. “It is certainly encouraging to see how these young people are making a difference in the agricultural landscape,” said Meyer.
130 agricultural graduate interns were appointed on the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Placement Programme and 10 young professional persons (nine with Master’s degrees and one with a doctorate) were supported. “Close to 12000 youth were provided with career information promoting agriculture as a career of choice through agricultural shows, exhibitions, open days and mobile Thusong Centres,” said Johnson.
