Thande Phoshoka (24) from Ga-Dikgale in Limpopo, plans to use his animal production skills back home when he completes the skills programmes being rolled out by Dzunde Farming Co-operative in four sites in Limpopo with funding support from the National Skills Fund (NSF).
Phoshoka comes from an agricultural family: his grandfather has cows and chickens and Ga-Dikgale, as a whole, is an agricultural hive, he explained.
He recalls some years back, when his community experienced some animal disease, and his grandparents knew little about what to do in such situations. He looks forward to serving his community with his improved know-how in looking after animals.
Before he enrolled in the Dzunde programme, he was studying teaching at the University of South Africa (Unisa) and, due to financial reasons, could not complete his studies.
“When the opportunity came up to participate in the animal production programme, I saw this as a second chance to continue studying, and grabbed it with both hands”, he said.
He enjoys learning different things about animals that he did not know before. He encourages other young people (particularly those with access to household or communal land) to get into the agricultural field because “it really has a lot more opportunities” than he initially thought.
Dzunde Farming Co-operative, in Limpopo, is one of the service providers participating in the NSF-funded rural skills development initiative. With approved funding of R34,9 million in the 2018/19 financial year, 1 025 learners will be trained in various skills and learnership programmes. The training is conducted in three project sites in Limpopo, the Free State and the Northern Cape.
Hendrick Segola, on the other hand, started off with an NSF-funded learnership offered by Dzunde in 2016. He is now employed by Dzunde at its affiliate poultry production facility, Mokhwevo Poultry.
“Each and every day, people must eat and, therefore, there is always a need for someone to produce food. This is a clear signal that the agricultural industry is broad and has a lot of interesting opportunities”, Segola said.
He thanks the NSF for its continued role in creating opportunities for people like him.
This article was published in the NSF 2018/19 Annual Report
