Picture: The NARYSEC students planting seedlings in a tunnel at Kgora Farmer Training Centre/Supplied
By OBAKENG MAJE
One of the 45 National Rural Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) beneficiaries said the six months of training at Kgora Farmer Training in Mahikeng will bring a positive impact on his life. Dikgang Kogela said he has learned a lot since he started the program in March 2023.
“Training at Kgora Farmers Training has been advantageous for me. As a crop farmer, I learnt so much about weed control and diseases. I, therefore, plan to use the knowledge gained here to benefit the farm back home. We highly appreciate the government for bringing this initiative, which is a youth skills development and employment programme.
“Being part of this youth flagship programme will benefit from character building programme, soft and hard skills training and I will be able to undertake various rural infrastructure and other development projects. What I like about this programme, is it transforms youth from rural areas, from being job seekers to becoming job creators in their own right, breaking the vicious cycle of social grants dependency,” said Kogela.
The Head of Department at North West Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Thupi Mokhatla said: “Our Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) states that the NARYSEC beneficiaries will receive tailor-made training focused on technical skills necessary for primary agriculture production at Kgora Farmer Training Centre.
“This approach will make headway to ensure systematic mentoring on diversified agri-business value chains including primary production. The Kgora Farmer Training Centre is a unique public service institution in the North West dedicated and accredited solely for the development, empowerment and training of farmers across all farmer categories.”
Mokhatla further said, in an effort to promote income-generation opportunities for youth in the North West, the department is currently providing training to 45 beneficiaries of the NARYSEC. He added that the main objective of the NARYSEC training project is to enhance opportunities for unemployed rural youth aged 18 -35 years to become self-reliant, show their capabilities and allow them to be active members of the farming economy.
The Kgora Farmers Training Centre Manager, Thuthukani Hlangu, emphasised that, beyond training to primary agriculture production, the strengthening of the technological capabilities of these beneficiaries through value chain development is key to the success of interventions centred on capacity development of their operations.
“The Kgora Farmers Training Centre is a state-owned agricultural skill training centre based in Mahikeng and tasked with a responsibility to improve farming skills of all levels. It is accredited by the Agricultural Sector Education and Training Authority (AgriSETA), as an education and training provider in the agriculture sector on animal and plant production,” he said.
According to the www.gov.za website, the NARYSEC programme was established in May 2013, where 13 000 participants were trained as development agents. at various stages of their training as development agents. The websites say The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) had partnered with the Agricultural Research Council to train 900 agri-paraprofessionals in smallholder livestock and dairy production and 750 more in vegetable gardening and soil sampling. The Department has invested over R631 million in programmes to train and deploy rural youth.
“A further 400 youth have received practical training in construction by Murray and Roberts. This is part of the collaboration with the private sector. Youth have also participated in construction projects in Worcester (housing construction), Beaufort-West (constructing a youth hub), and Limpopo (brick making and paving).”
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