The future of agri-education

Thomas Jefferson said, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because in the end it will contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness” and AGRICOLLEGES international couldn’t agree more.?

Agriculture today is a fast-paced, global and diverse sector that is also heavily reliant on high-end scientific discovery and increasingly responsive to consumers’ concerns about provenance, ethics and health. Despite all this, agriculture still fails to grip the imagination of many of our brightest students. The low interest of agricultural students to venture into agribusiness entrepreneurship is also supported, at least partly by their negative perception of the agribusiness environment.?

Changing Perceptions?of Agriculture

At present, as in many countries throughout the world, the position of agricultural education is still threatened. There is a community held idea that agriculture is for the poor, elderly and underprivileged. However, this is far from the truth as this young discipline is much more than sows, cows and ploughs!?

There is a great need to train future farmers in the many innovative ways to practice agriculture in our rapidly evolving and expanding world. These practices range from organic and regenerative agriculture focused on replicating natural processes, through to technology-driven precision farming and the emerging trend of using locally sourced inputs in integrated farming systems.

The agricultural sector could become an even more significant contributor to the local economy in the next ten years by feeding directly into education investment, food imports and exports and the development of agricultural technology to improve farming practices.?With such an evolving agricultural industry, education is key to make sure everyone is up to speed with modern farming.?

The benefits of agricultural education?

Agricultural education boosts farmers’ ability to obtain, decode and understand information, thus enabling them to make better use of available information and resources to come up with pertinent solutions to production, market and financing challenges.?

South Africa has 26 public universities with nearly one million students while 700 000 students are registered at the more than 50 higher education training colleges (TVET colleges - Technical vocational education training). An additional 90 000 students can be found at various private institutions. There are currently only twelve public Colleges of Agriculture in South Africa offering qualifications at NQF Level 1 to NQF Level 6 in various principles of agriculture.?

The idea of studying further and building towards your dream career is an exciting prospect for many, but the same thing that creates excitement for one, may stir dread in another. The lack of financing continues to be a problem for most, but this should not demotivate students to follow their dreams and work towards their agribusiness goals.?

Alternative options for traditional education?

Agricultural education has been an essential factor in the success of agricultural development in South Africa. Farm and entrepreneurial education and training programmes possess an enormous potential to create new businesses that are rooted in our communities and economy, while being poised enough to grow and contribute over the long run to a struggling economy.?

As an online agri-education platform, AGRICOLLEGES international offers world-class agricultural learning opportunities through various short courses and one-year National Certificates. Online education comes with many benefits - from the flexibility to learn at your own time and pace, to the ability to earn a living while you learn, at a more affordable rate than traditional education.?

Are you thinking about starting a small farm? Do you already have a farming business that you are looking to expand? Invest in your education by studying with AGRICOLLEGES international today. If you don’t have the financial resources to study further, AGRICOLLEGES international has payment plan options available to students throughout the year and we are currently running two End of Year specials where you can get 10% off National Certificate course fees or 20% off short course fees - valid until the 15th of December 2022 (make sure to visit our website or social media for the discount codes!)

For more info on your study and payment options, visit https://agricolleges.com/agriculture-courses/ or contact us at (0)63 940 0334/ [email protected]?