IN NORTH-WEST PROVINCE - Department of Agriculture,...

PROVINCIAL REPORT ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT\

IN NORTH-WEST PROVINCE

By Provincial Research Officers:

ADRIAM MASIGO CALEB MATSHEGO

NORTH-WEST DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, CONSERVAITON AND ENVIRONMENT

21 NOVEMBER 2002

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………………… EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ……………………………………………………. FOREWORD ………………………………………………………………….

CHAPTER 1 ………………………………………………………………….. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………...

1.1 BACKGROUND ………………………………………………………

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ………………………………………… 1.3 METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………….. 1.4 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT ………………………………………..

CHAPTER 2 …………………………………………………………………... OVERVIEW OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL SECTOR IN THE

PROVINCE ……………………………………………………………………. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………... 2.1 Geographical/Environmental features…………………………..

2.1.1 Climatic Conditions In The Province …………………………….

2.1.2 Soils and Vegetation ……………………………………………… LAND USE ……………………………………………………………………

2.2 Land use patterns in the Province………………………………..

DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PROVINCE …………………………………..

2.3 Population Characteristics………………………………………...

2.3.1 Age Structure ………………………………………………………

2.3.2 Social and economic indicators ………………………………… 2.3.3 Income and poverty levels ………………………...……………… 2.3.4 Indicators of education …………………………………………… FARMERS AND FARMING ACTIVITIES…………………………………..

2.4 Farmers ……………………………………………………………….

2.4.1 Commercial Farming.………………………………………………

2.4.2 Main Farming Activities in the Province ……………………… 2.4.3 Small/Emerging Farmers …………………………………………

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2.5 Agriculture and other economic activities contribution

to the GDP employment in the North-West Province…………. 2.6 Agricultural Education and Training in the Province ……………………………………………………………….

2.7 National, Provincial and International Imperatives …………..

PROVINCIAL POLICY IMPERATIVES …………………………………….

2.7.1 Provincial Clusters …………………………………………………

2.7.2 Sector Specific Development Strategies……………………….. NATIONAL POLICY IMPERATIVES ……………………………………..

2.7.3 Employment Strategy Framework ……………………………….

2.7.4 The National Skills Strategy (Department of Labour) ……… 2.7.5 White Paper on Science and Technology ……………………. 2.7.6 Skills Development Act, 97 of 1998 ……………………………… INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND POLICY IMPERATIVES …

2.7.7 The Phenomenon of Globalization ………………………………

2.7.8 Agenda 21 ……………………………………………………………. 2.8 Challenges and Implications of Development needs on

Agricultural Education and training

2.8.1 Impact of HIV/AIDS …………………………………………………. 2.8.2 Low literacy levels ………………………………………………… 2.8.3 High poverty levels…………………………………………………. 2.9 Conclusion ..………………………………………………………….

CHAPTER 3 ………………………………………………………………….

TRAINING NEEDS……………………………………………………………

3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………...........

3.2 Emerging farmers ……………………………………………..........

3.2.1 Livestock Farmers …………………………………………………

3.2.2 Field and Horticulture crops ………………………………………

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3.3 BEE Farmers ……………………………………………………… 3.3.1 Training needs ……………………………………………………….

3.4 Discussion of the findings …………………………………………

3.5 Commercial farmers …... ………………………………………….

3.5.1 Training needs ……………………………………………………..

3.6 Summary and conclusion …………………………………………

3.7 Extension Officers ….. …………………………………………….

3.7.1 Skills/Knowledge required for the job ………………………….

3.7.2 Current competencies of Extension staff ……………………… 3.7.3 Training needs of Extension staff ……………………………….. 3.8 Discussion of the findings …………………………………………

3.9 Managers of Government Departments ………………………... 3.10 Research staff……… ………………………………………………

3.10.1 Training needs ………………………………………………………. 3.11 University/College/Agriculture High School ……………………

3.11.1 University and College Students …………………………………

3.11.2 Agriculture High School Learners ………………………………

3.12 NGO’s …………………………………………………………………

3.12.1 Training needs ………………………………………………………. 3.12.2 Summary and conclusion …….. …………………………………

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CHAPTER 4 …………………………………………………………………..

PROVISION OF AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AND TRAINING ………

4.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………….

4.2.1 University of the North west, Potchefstroom and Taung Agricultural Colleges …………………………………….

Curriculum …………………………………………………………….. Method of providing training ……………………………………… Target Clients ………………………………………………………… Enrolment …………………………………………………………….. Management …………………………………………………………. Cost of tuition ……………………………………………………….. Human Resources …………………………………………………… 4.2.7 Qualifications …………………………………………………… Educational Support Infrastructure and Equipment ………………. List of Perceptions of Staff About Constraints ……………………. 4.2.2 Agriculture High Schools and High Schools offering

agriculture As a subject ……………………………………………………………

Curriculum …………………………………………………………….. Method of providing training ………………………………………… Target Clients …………………………………………………………. Enrolment ……………………………………………………………... Management ………………………………………………………….. Cost of tuition …………………………………………………………. Qualifications …………………………………………………………. Physical resources …………………………………………………... 4.3 NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS

4.3.1 NGO’s ………………………………………………………………….

Skills for All ……………………………………………………………

Courses/Training provided (curriculum) …………………………… Target groups ………………………………………………………… Enrolment …………………………………………………………….. Method of Training …………………………………………………… Cost of Tuition ………………………………………………………… Human Resources ……………………………………………………

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Financial Resources ………………………………………………… Physical Resources …………………………………………………. Infrastructure Available ………………………………………………. 4.4 Informal Training Institutions ……………………………………..

4.4.1 Government agricultural development services

Courses/Training given to farmers and number trained ………….

Method of Training Provision ………………………………………. Cost of Training ……………………………………………………… Target groups ………………………………………………………… Human Resources …………………………………………………… Financial Resources …………………………………………………. Physical Resources ………………………………………………….. Lecturing Halls ………………………………………………………... Accommodation ……………………………………………………… Demonstration Centres ……………………………………………… 4.5 Research Institutes (Technical Support Services (TSS) and ARC-Institute for Industrial Crops-(ARC-IIC) ……

Courses/Training given to farmers and number trained …………. Target groups ……………………………………………………….. Human Resources …………………………………………………… Financial Resources ………………………………………………… Physical Resources …………………………………………………. 4.6 Conclusion/summary ……………………………………………….

CHAPTER 5 …………………………………………………………………..

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AND TRAINING GAPS …………………..

5.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………... 5.1.1 Education and Training in relation to target clients ……….

5.1.2 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions …………………… 5.1.3 Informal and Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions

5.2 Education and Training in relation to clients needs …………

5.2.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions …………………… 5.2.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions …………………

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5.3 Methods of Education and Training Provision ……………… 5.3.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions ……………………

5.3.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions ………………… 5.4 Cost of Training …………………………………………………….

5.4.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions ……………………

5.4.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions …………………. 5.4.3 Admission requirements ………………………………………… 5.4 Resources and Capacity …………………………………………..


5.4.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions …………………. 5.5 Compliance of Education and Training to National

Standards(NQF & SAQA) …………………………………………


5.5.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions ………………… 5.6 Compatibility of Education and Training with Imperatives …


5.6.2 Non-formal Agriculture Training Institutions ………………… 5.7 Conclusion and Summary …………………………………………

CHAPTER 6 …………………………………………………………………. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………

INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………...

6.1 Formal Institutions ………………………………………………….

6.1.1 Universities and Colleges ………………………………………….

FORMAL TRAINING AND CURRICULUM ……………………………….

Involvement of formal Institutions in informal and non-formal training …. Human Resources Development …………………………………………… Infrastructural Development ………………………………………………… Access and Equity …………………………………………………………..

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6.1.2 Agriculture High Schools ………………………………………… 6.1.3 Formal Training

6.1.4 Non-formal Training ……………………………………………… Human Resources Development …………………………………… 97 Infrastructural Development ………………………………………… 98 Access and Equity …………………………………………………… 98 6.1.5 Farmer Training ……………………………………………………

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Human Resources Development …………………………………… 101 Infrastructural Development ………………………………………… 102 6.2 Summary and Conclusion …………………………………………

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7. REFERENCES ……………………………………………………….

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LIST OF TABLES Table 1. STAKEHOLDERS AND NUMBER INTERVIEWED ………………

2. 1 CLIMATIC FEATURES ………………………………………………

2. 2 Population characteristics – 1999 midyear estimates ……………. 2. 3 Age structure of the population ……………………………………... 2. 4 Trends in Commercial Farming in South Africa (1983 – 1993) …. 2. 5 Extent of Commercial Farming …………………………………….. 2. 6 Contribution of various sectors to GGP and employment in the Province ……………………………………………………………….

2. 7 Clusters and Strategic Pillars ……………………………………….. 2. 8 Strategic Pillars and Key Focus Areas …………………………….. 2. 9 HIV prevalence by province – Antenatal Survey Findings ………. 2.10 Projected population – Low and High Impact of HIV/AIDS ……… 3. 1 Major Constraints to Farming as Listed by Emerging Livestock Farmers ……………………………………………………………….

3. 2 Training Needs of Emerging Livestock Farmers …………………. 3. 3 Major constraints to farming as listed by Emerging Crop/ Horticulture Farmers ………………………………………………….

3 .4 Training Needs of Emerging Crop/Horticulture Farmers ………… 3. 5 Content to be covered in terms of training intervention ………….. 3. 6 Small stock and Poultry training needs for Commercial farmers .. 3. 7 Large Stock training needs for Commercial farmers …………….. 3. 8 Crops and Horticulture training needs for Commercial farmers And Farm workers ……………………………………………………

3. 9 Mechanical and Technical training needs for Commercial Farmers and Farm workers ………………………………………….

3.10 Business and Productivity training needs of Commercial farmers And Farm workers …………………………………………………….

3.11 Driving and Evaluation training needs of Commercial farmers And Farm workers …………………………………………………….

3.12 Current competencies of Extension Officers (As perceived by Extension Officers themselves) ……………………………………..

3.13 Training needs of Extension officers ……………………………….. 3.14 Training needs of Government Department Managers as identify By respondents (n = 14) ……………………………………………..

3.15 Gender and Age composition of Potch College and UNW Students ……………………………………………………………….

3.16 Farming experience of tertiary Agriculture students ……………… 3.17 Proposed Additional Topics (Skills Required) …………………….

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3.18 Grade at which Agric High School learners start doing Agriculture as a subject …………………………………………...

3.19 Subject combination taken at academic high schools ……………. 3.19 Topics suggested by Academic High School learners for inclusion in the curriculum ………………...…………………………

4. 1 Qualifications offered by formal AET institutions on North West Province ……………………………………………………………….

4. 2 Assessment of Teaching Content by Students …………………… 4. 3 Primary Clients of Formal AET Institutions in North West ……….. 4. 4 Enrolment at Formal AET Institutions in North West (2002) …….. 4. 5 Management of formal AET Institutions in North West …………... 4. 6 Cost of tuition (per semester) at formal AET Institutions in North West …………………………………………………………………..

4. 7 Qualifications of Academic staff at formal AET Institutions in North West …………………………………………………………….

4. 8 Physical resources of formal AET Institutions in North West ……. 4. 9 Perception of the University of North West Staff About Facilities . 4.10 Perceptions of former students (Extension staff) of Taung College and University of North West regarding the quality of Education received at these institutions ……………………………

4.11 Subjects Offered by Formal AET Institutions on North West Province ……………………………………………………………….

4.12 Primary clients of Agriculture High Schools and High Schools Offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West ……………….

4.13 Enrolment at Agriculture High schools and High schools offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West (2002) ………………...

4.14 Management of Agriculture High schools and High schools Offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West ……………….

4.15 Cost of tuition (per annum) at High schools ……………………….. 4.16 Physical resources of Agric High schools in North West Province LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. Main Farming Activities in the North West Province ……………… 10 2. Main Livestock Farming Activities in the Province ………………..

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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ADC : Agricultural Development Centre ARC : Agricultural Research Council FAO : Food Agricultural Organisation FSU : Field Service Unit GDP : Gross Domestic Product GGP : Gross Geographic Product NWP : North West Province TSS : Technical Support Services SMMEs : Small Micro and Medium Enterprises PAETTT : Provincial Agricultural Education and Training Task Team PRO : Provincial Research Officers VET SERVICES : Veterinary Services

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ANNEXURES

1. Agricultural Service Centres in the NWP (Overlain with Departmental

Regions). 2. Agricultural Schools in the NWP (Overlain with Municipal boundaries) 3. Agricultural Cooperatives (Silos) in the North West Province 4. Grades of abattoirs in the North West Province.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The project was as a result of a consultative process which was only possible through the participation of various stakeholders. It also needed support from the various managers and staff from the Department of Agriculture. It is for this reason that a special appreciation is extended to the following individuals who represented their institutions as members of the Provincial Agricultural Education Task Team: Messrs M.G. Morule and M. Ratshefola (North West African Farmers Union), F. Klinck and A. van Heerden (Taung Agricultural College), M. Selane and T. Mokwena (Department of Education), D.B. van der Merwe (AgriSA), J.H. de Kock (P.H. Moeketsi Agricultural High School), Drs K. Benyi and M. Molefe (University of North West), H. du Plessis and M. Moekoena (Skills for All), D.J. Neethling (Wagpos Agricultural High School), P. Venter and (Potchefstroom Agricultural College). These members gave this project an unconditional support and participated fully from its initiation until its conclusion. The Provincial Department of Agriculture Conservation and Environment in the persons of the Chief Director (Field Services) and her Directors (Eastern Region, Central Region and Western Region) has to be commended for their material contribution from their budgets which greatly enhanced the success of this project. Our sincere gratitude is also extended to our beloved wives, Thami Matshego and Evodia Masigo and our children who have shown patience and support to us on the many hours we spent on this project. Lastly, it is proper and essential to give thanks to our Almighty God through our Lord Jesus Christ who sustained, protected us in our traveling and gave us wisdom in carrying out the survey and actually writing this report.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document is a survey about the status of Agricultural Education and Training in the North West Province of the Republic of South Africa. The survey was carried out as a result of an initiative of the National Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The project started in November 2001 and ended in November 2002 and therefore it was essentially a 12 months project. However, the actual data collection started in May 2002. The survey was carried out by two Provincial Research Officers (PROs) who are the employees of government in the Provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment. The survey was carried out using mainly three methods: The participatory rural appraisal, the questionnaire schedules and the use of secondary data. The stakeholders dealt with in this survey are the following: Commercial farmers, emerging farmers, agricultural high school students, final year college students, final year university students, Departmental agricultural technicians staff, Departmental field services management staff, Research Institutes (non departmental), Technical support staff (Departmental), Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The survey revealed that there is inequity of access to resources between agricultural high schools and schools giving agriculture as a subject and that the latter’s objective in offering the subject seems to be having a definite purpose. There is also inequity of access to resources between the colleges and the university the latter being at the lower end of the scale. A gap was also identified between the formal institutions, the farmers, the informal and the non formal institutions which is mainly caused by lack of coordination and cooperation. Training needs for various users of agricultural education and education users were identified and recommendations were made and are contained in the last chapters of this document. The core of the survey is contained in chapters 3-6.

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION This is a report of the Agricultural Education and Training study carried out in the North West Province. This chapter specifically gives pertinent background information about the Province, the purpose of this study, the methodology followed in carrying out the study and the outline of this whole report. 1.1 BACKGROUND This report entails research carried out for the formulation of the National

Strategy on Education and Training. The project came into being as a result of the initiative of the National Department of Agriculture in partner-ship with the United Nation Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Among others, the institutional arrangements put in place for the carrying out of research made provision for the appointment of two Provincial Research Officers (PROs). The other more important institution established in the province for this purpose is the Provincial Agricultural Training and Education Task Team (PAETTT) which is a consultative body of users and providers of agricultural training. The need for formulation of the strategy was prompted by the changes that were brought by the need to counter the legacy of inequity in order to enable the agricultural education users to be competitive in view of the current local and international challenges.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purpose of this study was to assess the current situation regarding

Agricultural Education and Training in the Province. This entails investigation of the training needs of the farmers at all levels, those informal institutions that provide them with training and the training and related needs of those institutions and the training programmes they provide. Formal institutions that provide training to students both at high school and tertiary levels were also investigated.

This exercise was designed to determine a gap between what education

and training beneficiaries need and what the institutions formal, informal and non formal can provide. The results thereof are reflected in this report and recommendations are made. This report with its recommendations are aimed at contributing towards the formulation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa.

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1.3 METHODOLOGY In brief the terms of reference of provincial research officers were among

others the following:

• Attend national training workshops. • Identify stakeholders in the province (providers and users of

Agricultural Education). • Organise a briefing and planning workshop for PAETTT. • Liaise constantly with PAETTT to update them on progress. • Communicate and network with other PROs in the country. • Collect and analyse data. • Write a report on the findings.

For details of the terms of reference of the PROs and other institutions

preference should be made to the project business plan document. In the North West Province four meetings were held with PAETTT in pursuit of terms of reference in bullet points two and three above. In regard to the actual carrying out of the research in the Province, two main methodo-logies were used and these were the questionnaire schedules and participatory rural appraisal method. The following table (Table 1) indicates the list of stakeholders, numbers interviewed in each category and information gathering methodology used.

CLIENT SAMPLING

PROCEDURE NUMBER

INTERVIEWED METHODOLOGY

USED 1. Commercial farmers *Used

secondary data Used

secondary data

Secondary data

2. Emerging farmers Cluster 125 Participatory rural appraisal

3. Agricultural High School students

Population Survey

Questionnaire

4. Final Year College students

Survey 210 Questionnaire

5. Final year university students

Population Survey

20 Questionnaire

6. Departmental agricultural technicians staff

Population Survey

31 Questionnaire

7. Departmental field services management staff

Population Survey

78 Questionnaire

8. Research Institutes (non departmental)

Population Survey

14 Questionnaire

9. Technical support staff (Departmental)

Population Survey

7 Questionnaire schedule

10. NGOs Population Survey

36 Questionnaire and secondary data

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*Secondary data was used as the responses from this stakeholder was small to justify the results.

The data collection activity started in May 2002 to August 2002. During

the later stages of information collection data analysis was made concurrently.

1.4 OUTLINE OF THE REPORT The report is comprised of six chapters. Chapter 2 outlines the geogra-

phic/environmental features, agricultural and non agricultural activities and the scenario regarding the current agricultural education and training in the province. Chapter 3 gives the findings, chapter 4 gives a synopsis of the services and programmes of agricultural education and training pro-viders. In chapter 5 gaps are given and conclusions and recommendda-tions are given in chapter 6.

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CHAPTER 2: OVERVIEW OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL SECTOR IN

THE PROVINCE INTRODUCTION

In this chapter detailed information about the characteristics of the Province are given. This entails the geography, demographics, economic activities and the challenges facing the Province. The Provincial, National and global imperatives which requires this kind of research to be carried out are also cited in the form of among others policy and legislation in place.

2.1 GEOGRAPHICAL/ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES The province is situated towards the western part of South Africa. It

borders the Limpopo Province to the North, Gauteng to the east, the Free State to the east and South, The Northern Cape to the South and Botswana to the West and North. Altitude ranges from one to two thousand meters above sea level. It has a total land area of 116 320 square kilometers. The province occupies 9.5% of the total area of South Africa. The Province is predominantly rural and the main activity is agriculture which is, however, only the fifth main contributor to the GGP.

North West is demarcated into the following district four (4) councils, three

(3) cross border district Councils and twenty one (21) local municipalities and four (4) cross border local municipalities.

The province is landlocked and it can be accessed mainly by road, rail and

air. There are five airports: Mafikeng Airport, Pilanesberg International Airport and minor airports (Klerksdorp, Rustenburg and Potchefstroom).

2.1.1 Climatic Conditions in the Province Table 2.1: Climatic Features

Climate North West

South Africa

Temperature – January Degrees C 24.10 20.90 Temperature – July Degrees C 12.00 12.20 Rainfall – January mm 117.00 15.00 Rainfall – July mm 3.00 82.00 Rain Days – January No. 13.00 6.00 Rain Days – July No. 1.00 12.00 Sun days – January 12 hour days 23.00 28.00 Sun days – July 12 hour days 24.00 16.00 Rain annual mm 539.00 515.00 SOURCE: NORTH WEST BAROMETER

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The North West Province is a summer rainfall area with more sunshine

days and warm temperatures. It has a higher average rainfall per annum than the South African average and therefore has an advantage for agriculture (see Table 2.1).

2.1.2 Soils and Vegetation Predominant veld types in the west is Kalahari Thornveld and shrub

bushveld. The central is predominantly sour and sourish mixed bush veld and in the east is a mixture of other turf thornveld and mixed bush veld. The predominant soil characteristics are red-yellow apedal soils (Low clay) particularly in the western parts of the province, followed by plinthic catena (ideal crop production soils) and glenrosa and mispah (predominantly shallow and rocky) forms.

LAND USE 2.2 Land use patterns in the Province The total potential arable land is 28.3%, grazing 56.8%, conserved land,

the bulk of it comprising of game reserves is 6.4% and 8.5% land is put into other uses such as housing. The bulk of the agricultural land is situated in the Central District Municipality (about 8 400 square kilometers) which is double the figure of Bophirima District municipality at approximately 4 700 square kilometers. Most of the commercially cultivated agricultural land of approximately 5 800 ha is concentrated in the Central District Municipality, Southern District Municipality and Bophirima District Municipalities which have approximately 4 200 square kilometers each. The location of semi commercial and subsistence farming is mainly concentrated in the Central and Bojanala District Municipality areas. The latter scenario is closely correlated with the distribution of land under control of tribal authorities in the North West (Department of Economic Affairs – NWPG, 2002:80).

Important characteristics at magisterial level are that agriculture is a

dominant sector in the Huhudi, Ventersdorp and Delareyville areas but contributes only between 5% and 8% of the agricultural production of the North West Province. Potchefstroom and Vryburg magisterial districts are the largest contributors to agricultural production at 11.4% and 12.6%.

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DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PROVINCE 2.3 Population Characteristics The following table indicates racial groups which accounts to the total

population of the North West Province. Table 2.2: Population characteristics – 1999 midyear estimates

FEMALE MALE TOTAL POPULATIONGROUP

% URBAN (%)

RURAL

1 802 438 175 942 3 562 280 African 91.2 35.4 64.6 Whites 6.6 Coloured 1.4 Indian

Unspecified 0.3 0.5

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (NW) The province is predominantly rural at 65% rural and 35% urban. The

majority of the population group are Blacks with Botswana as a dominant ethnic group at 67% of other black ethnic groups. The unspecified category refers to among others foreign nationals. The total population of 3 562 280 in the North West accounts for approximately 8% of the total population of South Africa. The female population is higher than the male population.

2.3.1 Age Structure The subsequent table portrays the age categories of the population of the

North West Province. Table 2.3: Age structure of the population

Age Interval

%

0 - 1 33.9 15 – 24 20.3 25 – 34 16.4 35 – 44 12.1 45 – 54 7.3 55 – 64 4.6 65+ 4.6 Not stated 0.8

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (NW)

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The predominant age categories are children and youth (Table 2.3). This has an implication on future planning for social services such as schools and early learning centres.

2.3.2 Social and economic indicators The total of the economically active population is 57% of the total

population of the North West Province. Of this 57%, 55.9% are male as opposed to 44% female. Male active population is therefore more than that of females. The Human Development Index (HDI) which is an index that measures the human development of a community based on measures of life expectancy, literacy and income is low at 0.545%. This is the third lowest of the provinces with 0.48% and 0.51% of the Limpopo and Eastern Cape respectively. The highest Human Development Index at magisterial districts of North West is Potchefstroom, Brits, Klerksdorp and Rustenburg districts and the lowest are Delarey, Phokwani and Kuruman districts. The highest level of this index is 1. The current unemployment rate is estimated at 39.7% compared with the correspond-

ding South African rate of 38.6% which shows an increase of 2.2% from 1994 figures (A re Ageng: 2002: 18).

2.3.3 Income and poverty levels The annual per capita income, the indicator that relates the total

population in a given geographical area with the total personal income generated in that area is the third lowest of all the provinces at R9 384 per capita per annum the others being Eastern Cape and Limpopo.

The poverty rate of the province (the proportion or percentage of people

living in households with an income less than the poverty line) is 52.7%. Proportionally according to race it is made up of 56.7% Africans, 4.6% Whites, 28.8% Coloured and 8.8% Asian. The figures mentioned illustrates the magnitude of lower levels of income with consequent severe poverty levels.

The other significant and important measurement is the poverty gap which

is a measure of destitution of the people. The poverty gap is actually the overall measure of the extent of the money required to bring the people living below the poverty line up to the poverty line. The total poverty gap in the North West Province is R2.54 billion per month. That actually means that to bring poorest of the poor people of the North West Province it would cost the Provincial Government the amount mentioned per month.

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2.3.4 Indicators of education 27.7% of the population did not have schooling and are not functionally

literate. This figure is higher than the overall South African average by 8.4%. 13.3% have obtained grade 12 as compared to 64% who did not. Only 4.2% have schooling beyond grade 12 which is very low. The implications are that there is a very poor availability of skilled labour force in the province. This is a challenge to invest in human development in order to increase the opportunity for choice of the majority of the population and this can be done among others through education.

FARMERS AND FARMING ACTIVITIES 2.4 Farmers 2.4.1 Commercial farming The table below indicates that the number of farming units and the total

land area used have declined through the years from 1983 to 1993 in South Africa as a whole.

Table 2.4: Trends in Commercial Farming in South Africa

(1983 – 1993) Year South Africa North West

No. of units Area (‘000) No. of units Area (‘000)

1983 59 960 86 015 7 172 5 680 1988 62 428 84 621 8 203 6 316 1993 57 980 82 759 7 638 6 184

SOURCE: STATISTICS SA, 2000

On the other hand, Table 2.5 below indicates the distribution of figures among the provinces and trends in employment in commercial farming units. According to the table, North West Province represents 11.6% of the total employees in the commercial farming sector.

Table 2.5: Extent of Commercial farming

Province Farming Units Employment Number 1000ha Paid employees Western Cape 8 352 10 250 202 962 Eastern Cape 6 106 10 320 88 383 Northern Cape 6 593 29 962 75 969 Free State 10 252 11 321 161 979 KwaZulu Natal 6 080 4 064 165 505 North West 7 638 6 184 126 530 Gauteng 2 500 675 34 302 Mpumalanga 5 406 4 648 144 519 Northern Province 5 053 5 335 93 116 Total 57 980 82 759 1 093 265

SOURCE: STATISTICS SA, 2000

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2.4.2 Main Farming Activities in the Province The following figures (Figure 1 and 2) gives an indication of the main

farming activities in the Province. The activities are then compared with other provinces to portray North West contribution within the national context. The information is derived from the research carried out by Researchwise commissioned by Eskom in 1997.

FIGURE 1 : MAIN FARMING ACTIVITIES IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Cereals Veg Oil Seeds Fodder Cit Fruit Subtropfruit

Decid fruit Other

Main Crop Activities

SOURCE: RESEARCHWISE, 1997 Figure 1 indicates the major cropping activities in the Province. Cereals, particularly maize are the main crops produced at 60.64% followed by oil seeds and Vegetables at 18.51% respectively. In the national context the North West Province is the highest in cereal production at 34.19% and also the highest oil seeds production followed by the Free State respectively. Pertaining to fruit production, the North West Province is the third highest following the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape respectively (Researchwise, 1997). The information provided therefore indicates that the North West Province has a comparative advantage in terms of agricultural production and is the main contributor to South African agriculture. Agricultural education and training is therefore necessary and can contribute significantly in improving the province’s performance even further.

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In regard to livestock production, the main enterprise are cattle (78.16%), Sheep (9.2%) and chicken (6.9%). See figure 2. In the national context, the North West Province is the second largest cattle producer at 17.11% after the Free State. The province is the highest sheep producer at 31.55% followed by the Free State. It is also the highest chicken producer (Researchwise, 1997).

FIGURE 2: MAIN LIVESTOCK FARMING ACTIVITIES IN THE PROVINCE

Main Livestock Farming Activities

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Cattle

Ostriches

Chickens

Game

Pigs

Sheep

Type

of L

ives

tock

Percent

SOURCE: RESEARCHWISE, 1997 2.4.3 Small/Emerging farmers Small scale or emerging farmers in the Province are those farmers who

are resource poor who though they produce partly for the market and mainly for consumption may well graduate to be full commercial farmers with adequate funding and training support. The majority of this group in the Province are blacks.

According to Researchwise (1997) small/emerging farmers needs are, in

order of importance, land (16.5%), water (13.59%) loans or funding (12.62%) and Skills (8.74). This is not peculiar to the North West province as this is the general trend in South Africa as reflected in may publications and policy documents.

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2.4.4 Support Systems to Farmers in the Province 2.4.4.1 Agricultural Extension Services The farmers are mainly served by the Department of Agriculture,

Conservation and Environment personnel in the province. The Directorate that deals directly with farmers is the Developmental Field Services Directorate and it is divided into three regions to cover the whole province, viz, Western, Central and Eastern Regions headed by directors. The department is the most decentralized with offices in the villages called Field Service Units (FSUs) and Agricultural Development Centres or ADCs (the equivalent of district offices) situated within local municipalities

or district municipalities, whichever is applicable. The services rendered by the Developmental Field Services and therefore the department directly to farmers are the following:

• To empower farmers to use and conserve natural resources in a

sustainable manner. • To adapt services to ensure participation of women and youth. • To provide training and advice. • To assist farmers with whole farm planning. • To facilitate access to finance by farmers. • To assist in the provision of bulk infrastructure) (Departmental Citizens Report, 2000)

The following categories of staff that deal directly with farmers issues and

their numbers are the following:

• Agricultural Technicians – 210 : these are frontline staff that gives day-to-day advice, training and extension to the farmers.

• Agricultural scientists – 68: These are support staff to agricultural technicians and they also directly serve farmers particularly commercial farmers.

• Soil Conservation Technicians – 34: As the name entails, they deal with soil conservation issues in the province.

• Special Programmes personnel – 20: They deal with special programmes such as women and youth in agriculture and home economics issues.

2.4.4.2 Agricultural Financial Services Land Bank is the main source of finance for farmers in the province.

However, access to finance remains a big problem particularly to emerging and small farmers as they do not often meet the required criteria.

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2.4.4.3 Marketing Facilities There are marketing facilities that cater for various enterprises such as

silos for maize and cooperatives which serve, among others, as marketing avenues for various grain crops. The predominant coops in the province are Suidwes, Noordwes and Oostelike Transvaal Kooperasie. There is a National Vegetable Producers market situated in Klerksdorp. There are also abattoirs for livestock and auction pans the latter predominantly found in the areas of small scale farmers.

2.5 Agriculture and other economic activities contribution to the GDP

employment in the North-West Province In South Africa, the agro-food complex contributes between 14% and 20%

of gross domestic product (GDP). Agriculture contributes 7% to the GDP of the North West Province and 5.3% to the GDP of South Africa. It is also the third largest provider of employment at 14.8% which represent 80 000 individuals employed in this sector compared to mining, 22% and services 24% in the Province. The total production in agriculture as measured by the Gross Geographic Product (GGP) has increased from R2.5 to R2.9 billion between 1990 and 1999. The contribution of the agricultural sector to the GDP of South Africa has in turn increased from 9.2% in 1990 to 10.9% in 1999. The agricultural sector is mainly male dominated in terms of land ownership and people employed.

Table 2.6: Contribution of various sectors to GGP and employment in the Province

Sector

GGP (%) Employment (%)

Agriculture 7.0 14.8 Mining/Quarrying 32.7 22.0 Manufacturing 8.3 8.8 Electricity, Gas and Water 1.2 0.8 Construction 1.8 3.2 Wholesale and Retail 11.2 10.0 Transport and Communication 5.7 3.0 Financial and Business Services 6.5 3.6 Community, Social and Personal Services 25.5 24.0 Tourism 6.0 7.02 SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (NW) The mining sector contribution to the total economy of the province,

however, declined from 37.8% in 1990 to 32.7% in 1999. The rest of the figures for other sectors contribution to the GGP of the Province is provided in table 2.6 above.

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2.6 Agricultural education and Training in the Province There are two universities and two agricultural colleges in the North West.

Universities are the University of North West, which have a faculty of agriculture and the University of Potchefstroom for Christian Higher Education which does not have a faculty of agriculture. The colleges are Potchefstroom Agricultural College and Taung Agricultural College. There is a total number of 378 high schools of which 43% are schools offering agriculture as a subject and agricultural high schools. This is almost half

of the high schools in the province and this indicates the character of the province and its inclination, that is, rural and agricultural. There is, however, only three pure agricultural high schools in the whole province which forms 0.7% of the total number of schools. The spatial distribution of the education institutions is depicted on a map (Refer to annexures).

2.7 National, Provincial and International Imperatives The need for a strategy on agricultural education and training should not

be viewed in isolation but should be approached from the imperatives of policy and universal developments. Referring to the latter, globalization is an informal requirement that compels nations to be globally competitive and one avenue of being on the world standard is through education. The information provided on the foregoing discussion will be put in the context of the provincial, national and international policy imperatives in the subsequent subheadings.

PROVINCIAL POLICY IMPERATIVES 2.7.1 Provincial Clusters The provincial government has established clusters with specific

mandates related to the focus of various government departments. They are: The social, economic, Community and governance clusters. These clusters set themselves targets. These clusters are in turn comprised of strategic pillars. The following table gives in summary what the clusters entail.

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Table 2.7: Clusters and Strategic Pillars

Economic Development Community Development Governance Pillar 1 Pillar 2 Pillar 3 Pillar 4 Pillar 5 Pillar 6

Economic Services

Physical Services

Social Services

Human Resource

Development

Protective Services

Governance Services

Mining Water Health Education Police MultinationalsAgriculture Energy Social

Welfare Training Judiciary Public

Service Forestry Sanitation Poverty

alleviation Arts and Culture

Correctional Services

Public Entities

Fisheries Construction Sport Security Traditional leaders

Manufacturing Postal Communication

Recreation Defence Professional

Commerce Broadcasting

Religion Academic

Tourism Municipal

Business

Finance and Transport

Labour NGOs Public/PrivatePartnership

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF THE PREMIER (NW) Of relevance to this report is pillars 1 and 4 under which agriculture and

education are falling respectively. In terms of priority, the North West administration prioritized the mentioned pillars according to table 2.7 below. Pillar 1, that is, Economic Development under which agriculture falls is priority number one. Human Resource Development is share priority number three together with Physical Service Delivery.

Table 2.8: Strategic Pillars and Key Focus Areas

Strategic Pillars Key Focus Areas Priority

(%) Economic Development Job Creation 25 Optimal Governance Public Service Transformation 21 Physical Service Delivery Infrastructure Development 20 Human Capital Development Skills Training 20 Safety and Security Crime prevention 17 Social Service Delivery Combat HIV/AIDS 17

SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF THE PREMIER (NW) The top ten threats identified in formulating the Provincial strategy in the

order they are mentioned are the following: Inadequate expertise, Inadequate technology, Low literacy levels, Low levels of investment, Inadequate research, Inadequate capacity on local government, Inadequate credit facilities for emerging entrepreneurs, Uncontrolled

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diseases (HIV/AIDS), failing parastatals. The most interesting feature of these threats is that most of them have to do with capacity or human skills.

2.7.2 Sector specific development strategies Within Strategic pillars sector specific strategies were formulated and they

are listed below. To give a brief insight as to what they entail, only objectives aligned to education and training will be mentioned.

2.7.2.1 Tourism Master Plan Objectives:

• Empowerment of disadvantaged communities through comprehen-sive development facilitation processes

• Environmental management • Tourism transformation and communication structures

2.7.2.2 North West Rural Development Strategy Objectives: To improve the quality of life by ensuring that rural poverty is

alleviated through agricultural development, off farm economic expansion and access to basic services.

To improve the sustainability of development by focusing on

sustainable agriculture, promotion of tourism, develop improved technologies and support a population development strategy.

2.7.2.3 Strategy for Youth employment and entrepreneurship Key principles:

Youth involvement Broad based effort Networking and coordination Building capacity Potential entrepreneurship Special attention to rural areas

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2.7.2.4 North West Industrial Strategy Objectives

Raise the quality of the human resource, especially the skills of the labour force in the manufacturing sector.

Improve the scientific and technological resource availability in the province.

2.7.2.5 SMME Strategy Education and Training relevant Objectives:

Install and develop a culture of entrepreneurship amongst the Small Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) and high school children.

The provincial policy stance and strategies mentioned above requires the

province to engage in purposeful human development drives and therefore the strategy formulation of agricultural education among others becomes more relevant hence this project. This initiative can contribute meaningfully taking its point of departure from the programmes aimed at in the province.

NATIONAL POLICY IMPERATIVES As was the case with provincial policy initiatives, only objectives relevant to education and training will be mentioned. 2.7.3 Employment Strategy Framework The employment strategy was developed by the National government to

address mainly the problem of unemployment. Objectives:

• Skills In the short term the focus is on the promotion of sufficient number of jobs to match net growth in the labour force.

• In the medium to long term the objective is to make the economy innovative, inclusive and labour absorbing by raising base.

Inherent in these objectives is the need for improvement of skills and

therefore the Strategy Development on Education and Training is justified in order to position education to meet new challenges.

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2.7.4 The National Skills Strategy (Department of Labour)

• Developing a culture of high qualify life-long learning • Fostering skills development in the formal economy for productivity

and employment growth • Stimulating and supporting skills development in SMMEs • Promoting opportunities for skills development in social

development initiatives • Assisting new entrants into employment in the labour market

2.7.5 White Paper on Science and Technology It sets out a framework for effecting a more integrated National System of

innovation between business and other generators of innovation. This places more emphasis on research and development and education becomes more relevant in this instance.

2.7.6 Skills Development Act, 97 of 1998

• To develop the skills of the South African workforce. • To increase the levels of investment in education and training in the

labour market and to improve the return on that investment. • To encourage employers to activity participate in the training of

labour force. • To encourage workers to participate in learnership and other

training programmes. • To improve the employment prospects of persons previously

disadvantaged by unfair discrimination and to redress those disadvantages through training and education.

• To ensure the quality of education and training in and for the workplace.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS AND POLICY IMPERATIVES 2.7.7 The Phenomenon of Globalization Due to information technology advancement, the world has become a

small place, so to speak, a global village. There are no borders regarding employment, business and communication. This in itself brings a great pressure on the nations to be competitive internationally. Education and training is a convenient vehicle to achieve that and the development of the relevant strategy becomes imperative.

2.7.8 Agenda 21 This is a document adopted by 178 countries in Rio de Janeiro in 1992

and currently South Africa has become part of that agreement. The

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agreement has to do mostly with sustainable development with core issues such as combating poverty, International cooperation on sustainable development, demographics dynamics, sustainability and others. To participate and contribute to global initiatives for the improvement of lives would therefore require skills to do so meaningfully, hence the need for education and training strategy.

2.8 Challenges and implications of development needs on agricultural

education and training 2.8.1 Impact of HIV/AIDS

Table 2.9: HIV prevalence by province – Antenatal Survey Findings

PROVINCE

1998% 1999%

KwaZulu Natal 32.5 32.5 Mpumalanga 30 27.3 Free State 22.8 27.9 Gauteng 22.5 23.9 North West 21.3 23.0 Eastern Cape 15.9 23 Limpopo 11.5 11.4 Northern Cape 9.9 10.1 Western Cape 5.2 7.1 South Africa 22.8 22.4

SOURCE: STATISTICS SA, 2000 The prevalence of HIV/AIDS by province is indicated in Table 2.9.

Together with Gauteng, the North West Province is the fourth highest in terms of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. There has been an increase in prevalence by 1.7% from 1998 figure of 21.3% to 1999 figure of 23%. The pandemic therefore poses a serious threat to the economy of the North West in terms of human capital. The HIV/AIDS expected impact on the population by the year 2021 is shown on table 11. The table shows two scenarios, that is, the population numbers with low infection versus high infection through the years from 1991 to 2021. At low in HIV/AIDS prevalence rates, the population is expected to reach 5,5 million by 2021 compared to 4 million with high HIV/AIDS prevalence by the same year. There is a difference of 1 million in population numbers between the two scenarios.

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Table 2.10: Projected population – Low and High Impact of HIV/AIDS North West Population : 1991 – 2021

(Low HIV/AIDS) North West Population: 1991 – 2021

(high HIV/AIDS) Population (‘000) Population (‘000) Year

Total Males Female Year

Total Males Female 1991 3,112 1,532 1,581 1991 3,112 1,532 1,581 1996 3,355 1,650 1,705 1996 3,355 1,650 1,705 2001 3,779 1,862 1,917 2001 3,621 1,781 1,840 2006 4,228 2,086 2,142 2006 3,857 1,895 1,962 2011 4,673 2,307 2,365 2011 4,047 1,984 2,063 2016 5,077 2,507 2,570 2016 4,120 2,012 2,108 2021 5,517 2,725 2,793 2021 4,079 1,982 2,098

SOURCE: R. VAN RENSBURG, 2001 2.8.2 Low literacy levels 27.7% of the population did not have schooling and are not functionally

literate. 2.8.3 High literacy levels 2.8.3.1 Income and poverty levels As indicated in 2.3.1 above, the annual per capita income, third lowest of

all the provinces. The poverty rate is 53% falling within this rate are Blacks.

2.8 Conclusion The need to align policies and strategies with current local and

international developments is an imperative to any organization, be it business or government. The foregoing discussion points to the fact that the process if necessary and in fact long overdue for the alignment of education and training on agriculture in the Province and the rest of South Africa to meet both the local and international demands. The productivity of labour towards the development of the economy can only be possible or achieved through training and education of personnel to meet current challenges to compete meaning fully on international basis. Opportunities that arise through international trade agreements can only be taken advantage of through skills development that would enhance production of quality services and products. The development of the strategy on education and training on agriculture would add value to government initiatives to stimulate development.

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CHAPTER 3 TRAINING NEEDS 3.1 INTRODUCTION The main purpose of this chapter is to present the Agriculture Education

and Training needs of Agriculture stakeholders in the North West Province. Information presented in this chapter is based mainly on primary data obtained through participatory rural appraisal sessions, but for commercial farmers, secondary data was used.

Burton and Merrill (1977), as quoted by Van Dyk et al (1998:252), defines

a need as “a discrepancy or gap between the way things ‘are’ and the way things ‘ought to be”. Nadler (1982:85) as quoted by Van Dyk et al (1998:253) defines a need “as the difference between a goal (or what was expected) and what actually exists”. Wolmarans and Eksteen (1987:6) as quoted by Van Dyk et al (1998:253), differentiate between three levels of training needs:

• Macro level needs : These are needs which have to address

national or even international issues and are usually driven by national or international political, economic and social imperatives.

• Meso-level needs: These are needs of a specific organization,

group of employees in a particular occupation, or members of a specific population group. These needs have to do with those factors that are necessary for the organization as a whole to survive or to deliver on its mandate.

• Micro-level needs: These are needs of an individual employee or a

small group of employees. These needs are determined by comparing the individual employee’s performance with the stated performance norms and standards for the job.

Gustafson and Tillman (1991:19-21), as quoted by Van Dyk et al

(1998:279), identify six types of needs.

• Normative needs. These needs exist when the performance of the group or individual is below a norm or standard.

• Felt needs. These are needs perceived by the individual employee as important to him/her.

• Expressed needs. These are needs created by a demand for a particular service or product.

• Comparative needs. This need exists because of deprivation of one individual for something in comparison to an equivalent person.

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• Anticipated or future needs. These are needs motivated by future needs for something.

• Critical incident needs. These are needs created by incidents of problems or failures in the system.

In this particular research report, the Macro, Meso and Micro level needs

as identified by Wolmarans and Eksteens, as well as the Felt needs. Expressed needs, Anticipated or Future needs, as well Critical incident needs, as identified by Gustafson and Tillman, are formats that have been used in identifying the training needs for stakeholders in the AET process in the North West Province.

3.2 Emerging farmers 3.2.1 Livestock Farmers A total of 125 Emerging livestock farmers (61 Large/Small stock, 50

Poultry and 14 Pig) were interviewed using the Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) method. These farmers are either farming as individuals (especially those allocated State farms) or as a group (in a project set-up or communal farming set-up). Though the gender and age analysis was not done of the respondents, according to the observation of the researchers, the respondents were mainly elderly people and in terms of gender, the poultry, foodplot and bee groups were dominated by women (+ 80%), whereas Large/Small stock, pig and field crop groups were dominated mainly by men (+ 90%).

These farmers listed various constraints which impede them from farming

effectively. However, in spite of these difficulties, they do have survival strategies of their own, which they employ in terms of alleviating the effects of these constraints. Table 3.1 below gives a summary of the major constraints listed by emerging or small livestock farmers to their farming operations.

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Table 3.1: Major Constraints to Farming as Listed by Emerging Livestock Farmers

Large/Small stock farmers

Poultry Farmers Pig Farmers

* Lack of grazing camps * Lack of or insufficient water * High feed costs * Theft of animals * Lack of markets * Poor infrastructure for

raising pigs * Shortage of water * High feed costs * Lack of electricity or

Electricity charges too high *Poor quality Veterinary support (Mankwe/Bafokeng)

* Lack of transport or high transport cost

* Lack of or inadequate transport and poor quality roads

* Uncontrolled veld fires * High chick mortality * Lack of markets or market Access

* Vandalism of fences * Diseases * Lack of training * Diseases * Lack of Electricity * Lack of credit finance * Poor quality livestock * Problems of temperature

control for chicks

* Lack of fire belts * Poor quality day-old chicks * Lack of equipment * Poor quality or lack of proper

housing for chicks

* Bull subsidy (lack of) * Lack of exposure tours * Lack of feedback on development budget

* Lack of refresher courses

* Poor Government support

* Lack of Poultry abattoirs

* Storage/Refrigeration of slaughtered chicks

According to table 3.1 above, these constraints have mainly to do with

accessibility, but there are some such as: Mortality, diseases, marketing, feed costs, poor quality government support etc. which have elements of training service provision in them and which needs to be looked at when training programs for these farmers are developed.

3.2.1.1 Skills required for the enterprise According to the experience of the authors, livestock farmers need to

master a variety of skills that are prerequisite for them to run their farming units efficiently. These skills and scientific content varies from basic to advanced and are indicated in annexure 5.

3.2.1.2 Skills Farmers Have Extension officers (n=78) were asked to give their perception of what skills

they think farmers have and what is reflected below are the perceptions of Extension staff about their clients. An omission was made in the sense that farmers themselves were supposed to have been asked to indicate what they perceive to be their current skills, as a result extension officers

37

were asked to give some insight into their clients. Extension officers listed the following generic competencies of emerging large/small stock, poultry and pig farmers.

• Basic production techniques (mainly competent) • Business/Financial management (slightly competent) • Breeding practices (slightly competent) • Veld/Natural resource management (slightly competent) • Practical skills (slightly competent) • Value adding (none) • Generic/Support skills (slightly competent) • Engineering related (slightly competent) • Other (e.g. cashmere) (slightly competent)

3.2.1.3 Training needs Emerging Livestock farmers (n=125) and Extension Officers (n=78, 11 did

not respond for Large/Small stock, 18 did not respond for Poultry and 32 did not respond for Pigs) perceive the training needs of these farmers as reflected in table 3.2 below.

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Table 3.2: Training Needs of Emerging Livestock Farmers As perceived by farmers As perceived by Extension Officers COMPETENCY Large/Sm

all Stock n=61

Poultry n=50

Pig Prod n=14

Large/Small Stock n=78 (11

did not respond)

Poultry n-78 (18 did not respond)

Pig Prod n=78 (32 did not respond)

Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Production Techniques

82 34,5 85 56,7 30 83,3 34 26,4 23 35,4 16 48,5

Business/ Fanancial Management

11 4,6 53 35,3 - - 42 32,6 35 53,8 14 42,4

Breeding Techniques

57 23,9 - - - - 20 15,5 - - 2 6,1

Veld/Natural Resource Management

26 10,9 - - - - 18 14,0 - - - -

Practical Skills 48 20,2 - - 6 16,7 2 1,6 - - - - Generic Support - - 12 8,0 - - 2 1,6 5 7,7 1 3,0 Value adding - - - - - - 6 4,7 1 1,5 - - Engineering 14 5,9 - - - - 1 0,8 1 1,5 - - Cultivated Pastures

- - - - - - 1 0,8 - - - -

None/Very little - - - - - - - - - - - - Other - - - - - - 3 2,3 - - - - TOTAL 238* 100 150* 100 36* 100 129* 100 65* 100 33* 100 NB: Unit of analysis is not number of respondents, but frequency of responses

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3.2.2 Field and Horticulture crops A total of 77 (34 crop and 43 horticulture [food plot]) farmers were interviewed

using the PRA method. The crop farmers are farming mainly as individual farmers (irrespective of whether it is a project or community set-up), while the horticulture (food plot) farmers are farming in a group set-up. These farmers have also identified various constraints impeding them from farming effectively and these are listed in table 3.3 below.

Table 3.3: Major constraints to farming as listed by Emerging Crop/Horticulture

Field Crop Farmers

Horticulture (Food plot) Farmers

*Damage by cattle and wild animals *Lack of or insufficient water *Lack of arable land *Lack of funds to buy inputs and

equipment and to maintain equipment *Lack of implements *Lack of knowledge of pesticides *Drought *Availability of pesticides *Lack of funds *Lack of access to machinery for soil

preparation *Theft *Pests *Weeds and weed control *Lack of markets/marketing *High cost of diesel and seed *Lack of or poor quality water storage tanks *Vandalism of fences *Theft of vegetables *Low prices for crop produce *Poor response (at times) from Extension staff *Poor workmanship by contractors *Outdated equipment/technology *Electricity cuts/suspensions (Taung irrigation scheme)

*Lack of training courses

*Theft and breakages of equipment, as well as long time taken to repair such (Taung irrigation scheme)

*Lack of transport

*Poor project infrastructure As in the case of livestock farmers, most of the constraints listed by

crop/horticulture farmers require policy intervention, but some of them can clearly be addressed through training intervention.

3.2.2.1 Skills required for the enterprise According to the experience of the authors, crop and horticulture (food plot)

farmers need to master a variety of skills and scientific content, which are prerequisite for them to run their farming units efficiently. These skills and scientific content varies from basic to advanced and are indicated in annexure ……

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3.2.2.2 Skills farmers have Extension officers (n=48, 30 did not respond to this specific question) were

interviewed on their perceptions of the current competencies of Emerging Crop and Horticulture (Food plot) farmers and they listed the following generic competencies:

• Basic production techniques (mainly competent) • Business/Financial management (slightly competent • Practical skills (slightly competent) • Soils/Soil analysis and fertilization (slightly competent) • Generic/Support skills (slightly competent) • Value adding (slightly competent) • Irrigation scheduling (not competent) • Plant breeding (not competent)

3.2.2.3 Training needs Emerging Crop and Horticulture (Food plot) farmers and Extension Officers were

interviewed to indicate their perceptions on the training needs of these farmers. The findings are presented in table 3.4 below.

Table 3.4: Training Needs of Emerging Crop/Horticulture Farmers

Competency As perceived by Farmers As perceived by Extension Officers

Field Crops n=34

Horticulture n=43

Field Crops n=78 (22 not responded)

Horticulture n=78 (16 not responded

Freq % Freq % Freq % Freq % Production Techniques

55 54,5 68 43,4 38 43,7 33 39,8

Business/Financial Management

28 27,7 62 39,7 28 32,2 37 44,6

Practical Skills 4 4,0 - - 8 9,2 - - Plant Breeding 5 5,0 - - - - - - Soils/Soil analysis and Fertilization

9 8,9 17 10,9 8 9,2 2 2,4

Generic/Support - - - - 4 4,6 7 8,4 Value adding - - 9 5,8 1 1,1 3 3,6 Irrigation Scheduling

- - - - - - 1 1,2

None/Very little - - - - - - - - TOTAL 101* 100 156* 100 87* 100 83* 100

*NB: Unit of analysis is not number of respondents, but frequency of responses It is evident from table 3.4 above that both farmers and extension staff identify both

production practices and business/financial management as priority training needs for emerging crop and horticulture farmers.

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3.3 BEE Farmers 3.3.1 Training needs Bee farmers (all four of them being women) in Bafokeng ADC have identified the

following as their priority needs:

• Advanced bee-framing • Computer training • Marketing and sales skills • Advanced value adding

They also identified the following as constraints to their farming operation:

• Lack of finance • Lack of suitable equipment • Poor or lack of infrastructure (e.g. processing unit) • Social problems such as vandalism (minor concern) • Lack of information (minor concern) • Animals (e.g. monkeys, honey badger-minor concern) • Pests and diseases (minor concern)

Constraints such as lack of information and pest and diseases, clearly have

training implications. 3.4 Discussion of the findings In terms of training needs, table 3.2 shows that the needs as identified by both

Farmers and Extension Officers are similar, with the exception of Large/Small stock and Pig farmers (who did not identify business/financial management as a training need) and that there is agreement that the priority training needs for Large/Small stock farmers, Poultry farmers and Pig farmers are around the following: 1) Production techniques and 2) Business/Financial management and there is also agreement around the following needs, though of a lesser prioriy: 1) Breeding techniques for Large/Small stock farmers and 2) Veld/Natural resource management for Large/Small stock farmers. In addition, farmers have identified the following additional (though of a lesser priority) needs: 1) Practical skills for Large/Small stock and Pig farmers.

As far as Crop and Horticulture training needs are concerned, table 3.4 shows that

the needs as identified by both Farmers and Extension Officers are similar and that the priority training needs for Crop and Horticulture Farmers are around the following: 1) Production techniques and 2) Business/Financial management and there is also agreement around Soils/Soil analysis/Fertilization as the second priority need.

In terms of the content to be covered with respect to each commodity and topic,

both farmers and extension officers have identified the following subtopics, which

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have been categorized into categories as reflected below, so that priority in terms of general training needs can be possible to carry out.

Table 3.5: Content to be covered in terms of training interventions

Category Livestock specific topics Field crops and Horticulture (specific topics)

1. Production techniques

*Beef cattle/sheep management, caring of calves, supplementary feeding, disease/parasite control, nutrition/diet formulation, disease diagnosis. *General poultry management (Broiler/Layer), refresher courses, Disease control/Hygiene, Parasite control, Feeding, Project management, Chick rearing, Hatchery management *Pig management, project management, Disease/Pest control, Feeding, farrowing management, care of sows, management of piglets

Basic crop production, Choice of cultivars, Planting dates, Cultivation/Tillage, Harvesting, Weed control, Diseases of crops, Vegetable production, pest and pest control, seedbed preparation, fruit production, disease control, pruning, weed control, seedling production, cultivar choice, production of high value crops, transplanting

2. Breeding practices

Weaning and selection, bull selection and care, cross breeding, upgrading, Genetic improvement, Al

Seed selection

3. Business/ Financial Management

Basic record keeping, farm management, marketing, financial planning/management, project management

Marketing skills, Record keeping Financial management, Business management, record keeping, writing of business plan, packaging, farm management management

4. Veld/Natural resource management

Veld management, natural resource management

5. Practical Skills

Castration, dehorning, Pregnancy diagnosis

Knowledge of types of implements Calibration of implements

6. Other Cashmere, mohair

7. Generic/ Support skills

Farmer association formation, Group dynamics, communication skills, conflict resolution

Group dynamics, Conflict resolution, Leadership skills, communication Skills

8. Value adding Leather tanning, grading of red meat, production of by-products, poultry byproducts

Value adding

9. Engineering Water pump maintenance, poultry structure design, Construction of pig sties

10. Soils Types of soils, Soil analysis, Fertilization, soil structure

11. Irrigation Irrigation scheduling, water harvesting

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There is general agreement between the farmers and extension officers in terms of the content to be included in the various generic topics.

3.5 Commercial farmers 3.5.1 Training needs Due to the poor response obtained from commercial farmers, it was not possible to

consolidate the few responses in terms of formulating a view point on Commercial farmer training needs, especially given the number of such farmers in the province and the important role they play in the economy. The researchers then decided to approach different authorities on farmer training to share their experience on the perceived training needs for Commercial farmers and their farm workers. The Skills for All responded by providing information as presented in tables: 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10 and 3.11 below. These needs include those suited for the level of Farm worker as well as those suited to the level of Commercial farmer. Some of them do not apply for our province (e.g. Banana and Mango production), but most are generic needs which have no geographical limitations.

According to information obtained from the Skills for All, the training needs have

been consolidated in a form of a list of courses after a needs analysis was done on commercial farmers in 7 of the 9 Provinces. According to Mr Daan van der Merwe of the Skills for All, the needs analysis has been done over a period of 5 years and that these needs have been confirmed in a needs analysis done 3 months ago in the Limpopo and Mpumalanga Provinces.

3.5.1.1 Small stock and Poultry The training needs of commercial farmers, including their farm workers, are

presented in table 3.6 below. Table 3.6: Small stock and Poultry training needs for Commercial farmers

COURSE DURATION (DAYS)

RATIO

Caring for Sheep 10 15 Artificial Insemination (Sheep) 5 12 Pig Production 10 12 Broiler Production (Poultry) 10 15

SOURCE: SKILLS FOR ALL (OCTOBER 2002)

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3.5.2.2 Large stock The training needs of commercial Large stock farmers and their farm workers are

presented in table 3.7 below.


RATIO

Caring For Milk/Stud/Cattle 15 15 Milking Machine Operator 10 12 Artificial Insemination (Cattle) 10 12 Feeding Pen Practices: Cattle 10 15 Caring For Calves 5 15 Pasture Evaluation 5 15

Source: Skills for All (October 2002) 3.5.2.3 Crops and Horticulture The training needs of commercial crop and horticulture farmers are presented in

table 3.8 below. Table 3.8: Crops and Horticulture training needs for Commercial farmers and Farm workers


RATIO

General Vegetable Cultivation 10 12 Potato Cultivation 5 12 Tomato Cultivation 5 12 Banana Cultivation 10 12 Cultivation of Mangoes 5 12 Cultivation of Avocado’s 5 12 Citrus Cultivation 10 12 Cultivation of Vines 5 12 Monitor (Orchard/Land)/Scouting 5 12 Tree Development-Different Methods 3 12 Vine Development 3 12 Pruning of Vines 5 12 Maize Cultivation 5 12 Cotton Cultivation 5 12 Harvesting of Cotton 2 12 Control of Cotton Pests 2 12 Hydrophonic Crop Production 20 12 Fertilization 5 12 Maintenance of Different Irrigation Systems 5 12 Irrigation Operator 10 12 Application of Chemicals 5 12

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RATIO

Weed Control 5 12 Pest and Disease Control 5 12 Packhouse Procedures 5 12 Basic Course for Fruit Harvesters 3 12 Nursery 5 12 Garden Maintenance 10 12 Turfgrass Maintenance 5 12 Environmental Awareness 1 12 Resources Conservation 10 12

SOURCE: SKILLS FOR ALL (OCTOBER 2002) 3.5.2.4 Mechanical and Technical aspects The training of commercial farmers and their farm workers as far as mechanical

and technical aspects are presented in table 3.9 below. Table 3.9: Mechanical and Technical training needs for Commercial farmers and Farm workers


RATIO

Tractor Maintenance 10 12 Tractor and Implement Operator 5 12 Truck Maintenance 10 12 Workshop Assistant 30 12 Waterpump Maintenance 5 12 Windmill Maintenance 5 12 Irrigation Installation 15 12 Arc Welding/Gas Cutting 15 12 Co2 Welding 10 12 10 Fencing 15 12 Handyman 12 10 Chainsaw Operator 5 6 Brush Cutter Operator 6 3 Basic Veld and Forest Fire Fighting 20 Crew Leader (Fire Fighting) 10 Storekeeper 10 12 Basic Health Workers (Training Caretakers for Aids Patients)

12

First Aid 2.5 12 Preserving of Fruit/Vegetabls 15 12


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3.5.2.5 Business and Financial Management The training needs of commercial farmers and their farm workers as far as

business/financial management is concerned, are presented in table 3.10 below. Table 3.10: Business and Productivity training needs of Commercial farmers and Farm workers


RATIO

Shareholding 15 12 General Management for Farmers 5 12 Financial Management for Farmers 5 12 Supervision Mod 1 5 12 Supervision Mod 1i 5 12 Supervision Mod 1ii 5 12 6m 2.5 12 Productivity Awareness 5 12 Production Skills 2 12 Basic Farming Management 10 12 Health and Safety Representatives 3 12 Safety Awareness 2 12 Induction on Farms 2 12 Self Image for Agricultural Workers 1 12 Lifeskills 2 20 Aids/Hiv Awareness 1 25 Aids 5 15

SOURCE: SKILLS FOR ALL (OCTOBER 2002) 3.5.2.6 Driving and Equipment operation

The training needs of farm workers as far as driving and operation of equipment is concerned, are presented in table 3.11 below.

Table 3.11: Driving and Evaluation training needs of Commercial farmers and

Farm workers


RATIO

Forklift Operator 5 4 Forklift Evaluation 1 4 Learner’s License(Code 05, 08, 10, 11 and 14) 5 12 Driver’s Licenses (Code 08, 10 and 14) 10 12 Economic and Defensive Driving Techniques for Code 08, 10 and 14

5 Hours/Person 12


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3.6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION The training needs as presented by the Skills for All differs from those identified by

emerging farmers with respect to the following:

• With respect to Large stock, dairy farming/management came out strongly. • These needs include training on a wide variety of specific commodities,

whereas in the case of emerging farmers, focus has been on Large/Small stock, Poultry, Pigs, Crops (mostly maize, sorghum, sunflower, wheat and groundnuts) and vegetables (under open conditions).

• There are needs that focus more on the farmer as an employer, as they have to supervise their employees.

• There are other needs that have to do with general survival (generic/support) needs such as issues of Aids and Life skills.

However, the needs of farmers in general are similar, the difference lies in the

needs which are driven by specific commodity as well as the scale of production. 3.7 Extension Officers 3.7.1 Skills/Knowledge required for the job According to the experience of the researchers, Extension Officers need the

following skills/knowledge in order to do their job effectively. They may generalize in all fields or focus on a narrow field of Agriculture. Extension Officers require the same technical skills and knowledge as required by farmers (though at a higher level of complexity), but in addition to these, the require the following:

• Knowledge/Skills in Agricultural extension methodology • Methods of conducting needs analysis • Data collection/analysis/research/statistical skills • Group work/Leadership skills • Communication/Presentation/Writing skills • Report writing skills • Computer skills • General Admin skills/Business management • Land Use planning/resource conservation • Knowledge of alternative/high value crops • Policies affecting Agricultural production (Nationally/Internationally) • Marketing issues (Globally/Nationally) and market analysis

3.7.2 Current competencies of Extension staff Extension officers interviewed have identified a number of competencies they have

currently, as well as the relative strength of each competency. The findings are presented in table 3.12 below.

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Table 3.12: Current competencies of Extension Officers (As perceived by Extension Officers themselves)

AS PERCEIVED BY EXTENSION

OFFICERS (n=48) COMPETENCY FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

General Agricultural production techniques 5 3,8 Crop Production techniques 7 5,3 Animal Husbandry techniques (Large stock) 9 6,9 Horticulture techniques 1 0,8 Beekeeping 1 0,8 Veld/Natural resource management 9 6,9 Business/Financial management skills 9 6,9 Programmed extension 44 33,6 Computer skills (Basic) 28 21,4 Generic/Support skills 10 7,6 Farm Planning 2 1,5 Cultivated Pastures/Fodder production 2 1,5 Poultry farming 1 0,8 Soil sampling/Analysis 2 1,5 Irrigation management 1 0,8 TOTAL 131* 100 NB: UNIT OF ANALYSIS IS NOT NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS, BUT FREQUENCY OF RESPONSES Though table 3.12 above gives a long list of competencies as identified by

Extension officers, it is clear that they reckon they are competent in programmed extension, which is the methodology for conducting agricultural development.

3.7.3 Training needs of Extension staff Questionnaires were distributed amongst Extension officers and Managers of

Government Departments, to solicit what could be perceived as the training needs of Extension officers. A total of 78 Extension Officers responded back and a total of 14 managers responded. An attempt has been made to find out whether the Managers and Extension officers are in agreement as to the priority training needs of Extension officers, but due to the low response from the side of Managers, such a comparison would not be valid.

Besides all the other training needs that are straight-forward in terms of their

meaning, the following training needs include this content. 1) Business/Financial management/Social economics (this includes: Business management/financial management/record keeping project management/social economics), 2) Generic/Support skills (this includes: management principles, communication, conflict management, leadership, report writing, etc.)

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Extension officers were asked to identify training needs for themselves, as they

perceive them and these are presented in table 3.13 below. Table 3.13 Needs of Extension officers

TRAINING NEED AS PERCEIVED BY EXTENSION OFFICERS

(n=78) FREQUENCY PERCENTAGECrop Production techniques 9 4.3 Animal Husbandry techniques 16 7.6 Veld/Natural resource management 7 3.3 Business/Financial management skills/Economics 37 17.6 Programmed Extension 10 4.8 Horticulture 14 6.7 Computer skills 33 15.7 (Advanced) Generic/Support skills 32 15.2 Farm Planning 4 1.9 Cultivated Pastures/Fodder production 4 1.9 Plant breeding 2 0.95 Sheep/Goat management 9 4.3 Value adding 1 0.5 Beef Cattle breeding 14 6.7 Policy/Regulations (Eu/Trade) 3 1.4 Poultry farming 2 0.95 Pig farming 4 1.9 Practical Production skills 1 0.5 Data collection and analysis/statistics 2 0.95 Soil sampling/Analysis 5 2.4 Irrigation management 1 0.5 TOTAL

210 100

Managers of Government Extension services (n=17) were also asked to give their

opinion in terms of the training needs of Extension Officers and they mentioned the following in order of priority.

• Business/Financial management skills • Programmed Extension • Generic/Support skills • (Bee keeping, Practical production skills, Soil sampling, Production

techniques for other enterprises and data collection and analysis/statistics.)

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3.8 Discussion of the findings It is quite evident from table 3.12 above that Extension officers reckon they have

good background of Programmed Extension (33.6%) and basic Computer skills (21.4%). This is self evident from the series of in-service training courses given to Extension Officers during the Agricor dispensation on Programmed Extension, as well as computer training given by the Department of Agriculture in the new dispensation. What is surprising is the fact that Production techniques was not prioritized, as it is expected of an Extension Officer to at least possess the right combination of Extension, Production and Generic/Support skills.

In terms of training needs as reflected in table 3.13, Extension Officers have

identified three needs which have come out quite clearly and these are: 1) Business/Financial management skills (17.6%), 2) Advanced computer skills (15.7%) and 3) Generic support skills (15.2%). The other needs which (though they have not come out as clearly as the three listed above) can also be considered important from the perspective of Extension Officers), are: 1) Animal Husbandry (beef/diary), 2) Beef cattle breeding and 3) Advanced Horticulture production.

The individual production skills (e.g. Horticulture) have not been identified with

much prominence, but all the production skills taken in total constitute 25.8%. It is also surprising that practical skills have not been identified by Extension Officers. This is in contrast to popular opinion by Managers of Extension services that Extension officers need training on practical skills, as the managers have always believed that the training Extension Officers received at Universities/Colleges did not equip them well as far as practical skills is concerned. It is also clear that Extension officers did not identify any alternative/niche crops they would like to be trained on.

The few managers of Extension in the Government (n=17) who responded, have

identified strongly the following needs for extension officers: Programmed Extension, Business/Financial management, Computer skills and Generic support skills. With the exception of programmed extension, managers are basically in agreement with the extension officers in terms of what their priority training needs are. This again emphasizes the fact that training of extension officers in technical aspects is not perceived as a priority.

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3.9 Managers of Government Departments Managers of Government Departments (10 ADC managers, 2 Deputy Directors

Extension, 1 Control Animal Health Technician and 1 Deputy Director Vet services responded) were interviewed through the means of questionnaires. They identified their training needs as presented in table 3.14 below:

Table 3.14: Training needs of Government Department Managers as identified by respondents (n=14)

Training need ADC Managers

Control Animal Health Officer

Deputy Director Develop- mental Field

Services

Deputy Director Vet

Services

Management and Leadership principles

√ √ X X

Agric Extension Management √ X X X Project Management √ X X Human Resource Development √ √ x X Government Policies/Public Admin

√ X X X

Horticulture √ X X X Farm Planning/Land Use Planning

√ X X X

Conflict resolution/Problem solving

√ X √ X

Financial management √ X √ X Computer training √ X X X Epidemiology X X X √

Though the response was not that high to warrant an analysis in terms of

frequencies, it is evident from the above table that the needs of the managers are diverse and varied, but the ones which stand out are: Management principles, Human Resource and Financial management, as well as Policy and public administration.

The two Deputy Directors of Extension who responded, have identified similar

training needs for ADC Managers.

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3.10 Research staff 3.10.1 Training needs 3.10.1.1 ARC-Tobacco and Cotton Research Institute and Technical Support Services The Managers, supervisors and researchers/research technicians of the ARC-IIC

(n=7) at Kroondal and Technical Support Services (n=36) of the Department, completed questionnaires. The training needs as identified by them are listed below in order of priority.

Managers and Supervisors

• Management principles • Computer training (including programming), crops (including herbs), Writing

project proposals, Technology transfer/Extension • Human resource management, Latest technological developments, GIS

software Researchers and Research technicians In order of priority (Only two TSS staff responded out of 18, therefore the needs as

reflected here are mainly as identified by ARC-IID)

• Data processing/Statistical analysis/Computer data analysis • IPM principles, Project management • Communication/Presentation skills, technology transfer, Writing project

proposals and management The training needs of management are diverse, but the only need that stood out is

training on management. In terms of technicians, it seems as if the technicians of ARC-IIC are the ones in need of some training and that given the poor response from TSS technicians, it can be concluded that either they are not certain about their needs, or they think they are well equipped for the job they are doing. Again, these training needs are diverse and cannot be pinned down to one specific category.

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3.11 University/College/Agriculture High School Students/Learners 3.11.1 University and College Students 3.11.1.1 Additional topics/Changes to the curriculum A total of 31 final year post-graduate students from University of North West

responded to the questionnaires and a total of 20 final year students from Potchefstroom College of Agriculture responded. In terms of their characteristics regarding age and gender composition, these are reflected in table 3.15 below.

Table 3.15: Gender and Age composition of Potchefstroom College and University of North West students

GENDER AGE CATEGORY INSTITUTION M % F % 15-20 % 21-25 % 29-30 % 30+

%

UNW 14 45 17 55 6 19 19 61 4 10 2 6 Potch College 17 85 3 15 2 10 18 90 0 0 0 0 TOTAL 31 20 8 37 4 2

In terms of table 3.15 above, 45% of University of North West students are male

and 55% are female, as compared to Potchefstroom College, where 85% are male and only 15% female.

Concerning age, 61% of University of North West students fall within the age

category of 21-25 years and 90% of Potchefstroom students fall within the same category, with no students over the mentioned age category.

In terms of farming background of the students interviewed, the findings are

presented in table 3.15 below.

Table 16: Farming experience of tertiary Agriculture students

RESPONSE INSTITUTE YES % NO %

UNW 12 38 19 61 Potch 17 85 3 15

In terms of table 3.16 above, 38% of University of North West students mentioned that they had prior experience of farming before enrolling, as compared to 85% of Potchefstroom College students. As far as proposed additional topics or changes to the curriculum is concerned, students have suggested the topics as reflected in table 3.17 below.

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Table 3.17: Proposed additional topics (skills required)

TOPIC (UNW) (POTCH COLLEGE)

FREQUENCY % FREQUENCY % No response 8 26 13 65 Management 7 23 0 0 Computer skills 11 35 3 15 Additional course related topics 3 10 2 10 Research (at diploma level) 1 3 0 0 Marketing 1 3 3 15 TOTAL 31* 100 20* 100

*NB UNIT OF ANALYSIS IS NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS Table 3.17 above shows that in terms of topics suggested for inclusion in the

syllabus, the highest need is computer skills, as indicated by 35% of University of North West students and 15% of Potchefstroom College students. University of North West students have also suggested the inclusion of management training in the curriculum. Given the high none response from Potchefstroom College students, it can be concluded that they are satisfied with the training they receive and would be comfortable with minor changes to their curriculum.

3.11.2 Agriculture High SchooL Learners 3.11.2.1 Additional topics/Changes to the curriculum A total of 210 Grade 12 learners from 23 Academic High schools were interviewed

through the means of questionnaires. The learners interviewed had the following characteristics.

The gender ratio was 108 males and 102 females and 26 live in a town/township,

180 in rural areas and 4 in a farm. The learners were asked to indicate the grade at which they first started doing agriculture and they responded as indicated in table 3.18 below.

Table 3.18: Grade at which Agric High school learners start doing Agriculture

as a subject

GRADE

FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

7 26 12.4 8 2 0.9 9 11 5.2 10 134 63.8 11 31 14.8 12 6 2.9 TOTAL 210 100

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A high percentage (81.5) of the respondents indicate that they only started doing agriculture from grade ten onwards, just two years or a year before they start with their grade twelve. This implies that many learners do not have a solid grounding in this subject from the preceding grades and this could post problems for them in the higher grades, as well as for further studies. This is also compounded by the fact that 79.5% of the respondents indicated that they have not had any practical training, meaning that training they receive is highly theoretical.

The learners were also asked to indicate the subjects they do and the subject

combination taken at these high schools is presented in table 3.19 below.

Table 3.19: Subject combination taken at academic high schools

SUBJECT COMBINATION

FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

Agric, natural sciences 92 43.8 Agric, natural sciences, mathematics 46 21.9 Agric, commercial science 8 3.8 Agric, natural sciences, social sciences 54 25.7 Agric, natural sciences, commercial Sciences

6 2.9

Agric, natural sciences, commercial sciences, mathematics

3 1.4

Agric, natural sciences, social sciences, mathematics

1 0.5

TOTAL 210 100 A high percentage (96.2) of the respondents are taking Agriculture in combination

with other natural sciences and of this number, only 24.7 are doing mathematics. Agriculture science training at tertiary level requires some background of mathematics and it is clear that these learners are going to suffer should they further their studies in Agriculture. It is also important to note that 26.2%of the respondents indicated that they take social sciences (history and biblical studies) in combination with Agriculture. Those who are taking social science subjects in combination with Agriculture are wasting valuable time and resources because this combination will not take them anywhere should they decide to pursue Agriculture or any science qualifications at tertiary level.

The learners have identified the following topics to be added in their curriculum.

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Different topics listed were grouped into main categories as follows: CATEGORY

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TOPICS LISTED

1. Crop production Crop production, Photosynthesis, transpiration, carbon conversion, nitrogen conversion, nitrogen fixation

2. Animal production Animal production, dairy, animal diseases, animal reproduction, animal nutrition, A1, respiration

3. Irrigation scheduling

Irrigation scheduling, irrigation systems

4. Environmental studies Environmental studies, veld management, eco- system

5. Computer studies

Computer studies, information technology

6. Engineering Engineering, motor mechanics, farm machinery, technical drawing

7. Economics/Accounting Accounting, agric economics, home economis, management principles, commercial maths

8. Social studies

History

9. Soil fertility

Soil structure, soil analysis, fertilization

10. Microbiology

Growing bacteria, analyzing bacteria

11. Natural sciences

Maths, Chemistry, Physics, Geography

12. Human studies Human anatomy and physiology, human studies, demography

13. Aquatic studies

Aquatic studies

14. Horticulture

Horticulture

15. Tourism

Tourism, catering management, game farming

16. Generic

Reading and comprehension debates, research

The topics that suggested for inclusion in the curriculum by the learners of

Agriculture Academic High school are presented in a frequency table below.

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Table 3.20: Topics suggested by Academic High school learners for inclusion in the curriculum

TOPIC

FREQENCY PERCENTAGE

Crop production 28 12.2 Animal production 27 11.7 Irrigations scheduling 19 8.3 Environmental studies 18 7.8 Computer studies 15 6.5 Engineering 32 13.9 Economics/Accounting 28 12.2 Social studies 1 0.4 Soil fertility 9 3.9 Microbiology 2 0.9 Natural sciences 4 1.7 Human studies 16 7.0 Aquatic studies 2 0.9 Horticulture 12 5.2 Tourism 13 5.7 Generic 4 1.7 TOTAL 230 100 The Academic High school learners suggest that their curriculum could be

improved by adding more of Animal and Crop production, Engineering and Accounting/Economics and a little bit of Irrigation scheduling, Environmental studies, Human studies, Horticulture and Tourism. It is a fact that curriculum development is the primary responsibility of the Department of Education and therefore the above suggestions are just meant to conscientize them of the needs of the learners. The introduction of these additional topics at Academic High schools would place demands on the capacity of government to deliver, especially with regard to teacher qualification, as well as infrastructural resources.

3.12 NGO’s 3.12.1 Training needs In terms of accessing training needs from the NGO’s, a questionnaire was

formulated and distributed to the Skills Academy in Rosslyn, as well as Skills for All in Potchefstroom. The questionnaire was directed to management of both organizations.

In terms of identifying the training needs of staff, management of the Skills for All

institution (NGO) identified the following training needs:

• Agric scientists: Management skills • Agric technicians: Management skills

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• Non-academic staff (i.e. those giving practicals): Business skills, Technical skills and Basic management skills.

• Managers/Supervisors: Business skills It can be concluded from the above information that management of this institution

reckon that their academic and managerial staff are well versed in technical skills and knowledge pertaining to agriculture and therefore need only management training. As far as in-service training opportunities available to staff, the following are regularly used: Visiting Farmers/Information days and Attending short courses.

3.12.3 Summary and conclusion The Emerging Livestock farmers and Extension officers have identified training

needs (Meso level) that are necessary for the survival and productivity of emerging farmers within the context of the environment in which they operate. It is not possible to specify what the individual farmers’ needs are (micro level) as this is the responsibility of the individual service provider operating at ground level to do so. The training needs of Emerging livestock farmers can thus be categorized as follows, based on the experience of the researchers, the farmers and the Extension officers.

• Macro level. At the Macro level, specific training needs were not identified,

but it is the opinion of the researchers, that emerging farmers will have to be given training with regard to various policy imperatives (Provincial, National and International) which have an influence (directly and indirectly) on their farming operations. An example is the Marketing Act, WTO rules, National strategy on Agriculture etc. Other issues worth considering involve training on niche commodities, that are demanded by consumers for health and other reasons, such as organically produced food. Universal and National trends on consumer and tourists demand for these products, makes it worthwhile investing in developing these niche markets as well as the commensurate skills, so as to satisfy the demand.

• Meso level: At this level, farmers and Extension Officers have identified Production techniques and Business/Financial management as the first priority training needs (for all enterprises) and the following as second priority needs: Breeding techniques for Large/Small stock farmers, Veld/Natural resource management for Large/Small stock farmers, Practical skills for Large/Small stock and Pig farmers and Soils/Soil analysis/Fertilization for Crop and Horticulture farmers. Bee farmers, as a unique commodity, have identified Advanced bee-farming. Computer training, Marketing and sales skills and advanced value adding as their priority training needs.

• Micro level: At this level, it is the responsibility of each service provider who deals with individual farmers or groups of farmers directly, to arrange courses that suit their particular needs and circumstances.

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• Felt needs: Emerging farmers have been able to identify needs as they see fit and these have been indicated in the discussion under the Meso level.

• Expressed: Needs such as cashmere production have also been identified, which are basically needs created by the demand for a particular product. This was, however, not identified by the farmers, but by the Extension officers.

• Future or anticipated needs: These needs have not been identified by either Farmers nor Extension Officers, but in the opinion of the researchers, any country that wants to survive in this cut throat world of globalization and technological advancement, needs to position itself properly by being forward looking. Research and technology development will play a key role here, coupled with skill development for effective implementation of technology advancement.

• Critical incident needs: Farmers listed the various factors constraining them (refer to tables 3.1 and 3.4 above) from farming effectively. Most of these constraints are policy related, while some have to do with the socio-economic status of these farmers, but some have elements of skill deficiencies in them and these ought to be explored further in terms of developing training courses.

It can be concluded that emerging Livestock farmers need to be trained mainly on

Production techniques and Business/Financial management and that Emerging Crop and Horticulture farmers require similar training plus training in Soils, Soil analysis and Fertilization. However, for the survival and productivity of these farmers in the long term, as well as growth of the Agriculture industry, other types of needs than those identified by Farmers and Extension Officers should be considered, given the fact that not all emerging Farmers are on the same level of development, neither do all farmers who enter farming have the same goals and ambitions as to what they would like to get out of farming.

With regard to commercial farmers, secondary information shows that much of the

training needed is around technical and commodity specific topics, as well as around developing the managerial aspects (management of finances, resource planning in general and management of the labour force). Most if not all of these farming units are run as commercial ventures, therefore mastery of all these topics is crucial for decision making and the survival of these farmers.

With respect to management of the Research institutes, Government departments

and NGO’s it is quite evident that the cross cutting needs are around generic management principles, human resource management and business/financial management. Managers seem to be more interested in those skills that can enhance their capacity in terms of human, financial and project management.

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As far as research technicians and research staff are concerned, the need for more training seems to be coming from the ARC-IIC staff. Though their needs are diverse, there is certainly a need to address these needs. Their needs are mainly around enhancing their capacity to work in a research capacity, such as writing project proposals, research data analysis and interpretation, as well as communication of research results. Given the poor response from staff of TSS, it can be concluded that they feel they are adequately trained for the job that they are doing and therefore do not need further training.

Management of the Skills for all NGO reckon that the priority training need for their

scientists and technician is around management principles. It is only the non-academic staff who seem to require technical upgrading, with a little bit of business and management skills. It can be concluded that management of the Skills for All are of the opinion that the scientists and technicians are well capacitated in terms of technical skills.

Government Extension officers have clearly identified to be trained in the gene-

ric/support skills (such as leadership, conflict management, communication, etc.) advanced computer skills and business/financial management. Training in technical skills has not been identified that strongly and it is difficult to clearly identify which area of production techniques emphasis should be laid on and given the low response in terms of production techniques, it can be concluded that either extension Officers are of the belief that they have enough basic production techniques and thus require intermediate to advanced skills and knowledge, 2) or that they feel they are sufficient with the knowledge they have in relation to their current client base, or 3) the majority of them are preparing themselves for upward career moves which would require more of generic support, computer and business/financial management skills, than pure hands on technical skills. This can be confirmed by the fact that in 48.5% of the responses, Extension officers have identified training needs which are not pure production related (i.e. business/financial management, computer skills and generic/support skills).

The few managers of Extension in the Government who responded, have identified

strongly the following needs for extension officers: Programmed Extension, Business/Financial management, Computer skills and Generic support skills. With the exception of programmed extension, managers are basically in agreement with the extension officers in terms of what their priority training needs are. This again emphasizes the fact that training of extension officers in technical skills is not seen as a priority.

In spite of opinion generated by extension officers and their managers around

training needs, the researchers are of the opinion that it is quite imperative for the development of emerging farmers, who are served primarily by these extension officers, that intensive and accelerated training be given to extension officers not only in those topics they have identified themselves, but in relation to what farmers need to be trained on so that they progress into the commercial sector as well. New programs such as the LRAD and Land Care necessitate that extension

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officers be trained as well in more detailed technical production issues as African farmers have started buying into commercial farms and will probably venture into new commodities, or will produce existing commodities but at a higher level of sophistication, which requires immense support from the side of development agents.

The effect of globalization and market deregulation in South Africa places huge

demands on emerging farmers to learn to survive in this cut-throat environment. The need for support from development agents in terms of market analysis and business management is very high, hence the need to make sure that development agents are well clued up in these issues in order to support these farmers effectively and to give support to the existing commercial farmers. It is clear from the training needs of these commercial farmers that their needs are commodity specific and they address a wide range of commodities not currently covered by the government service extension staff. This raises a question as to whether government department extension staff has the capacity to provide training to commercial farmers, to include commodities other than those traditionally covered by emerging farmers.

The University of North West students suggest that training in computer studies

and management be included by their institution. The high number of non-responses from Potch College and the no response from Taung College suggest that students of these institutions are happy with what they are offered.

The Academic High school learners suggest that their curriculum could be

improved by adding more of Animal and Crop production, Engineering and Accounting/Economics and a little bit of Irrigation scheduling. Environmental studies, Computer studies, Human studies, Horticulture and Tourism. These are practical subjects and this would have implications on available resources as well as the quality of teachers. It is a fact that if these topics are taught, they are being taught without much emphasis on the emphasis on practicals.

THE OVERALL CONCLUSIONS COMING FROM THIS STUDY ARE THAT: (1) Farmers across the scale of production identify training in production techniques

and business/financial management as priorities. The fact that training needs have been identified based on commodity means that such training courses have to be commodity specific in order to have impact.

(2) The people who are doing the spade work on the ground (Researchers, research

technicians, extension officers and technical staff of NGO’s) do not have a major need for training in technical aspects. The major needs are around: business/financial management, management and leadership, conflict management, communication and computer skills. They are interested in training that enhances their capacity to do their current job well (in terms of support skills required) and are possibly looking at training that prepares them for career moves, possibly in the positions of supervision and management.

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(3) Managers are more interested in training that enhances their capacity to manage better.

(4) High school learners are looking for changes in the curriculum, with the

introduction of practical subjects like crop and animal production. It is also clear that these learners have not had much practical exposure in the subjects they receive and this has to be addressed.

(5) No major conclusions can be drawn for University and College students due to a

high poor response rate.

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CHAPTER 4: PROVISION OF AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AND TRAINING 4.1 Introduction This Chapter will present the institutions: Formal Education and Training

institutions (Higher, Further and Basic Education), Non-Formal Education and Training Institutions and Informal Training (Inclusive of Indigenous Knowledge) providing Agriculture Education and Training in the North West Province. Data presented here has been derived from both questionnaires and secondary data.

Regarding formal education, the following institutions are specifically discussed:

the University of North West, Potchefstroom Agricultural College, Taung Agricultural College, Agricultural high schools and schools offering agriculture as a subject. Skills for All (NGO) is discussed as a non formal training institution and Department of Agriculture extension and Technical Support Services and the ARC are discussed as informal training institutions.

4.2 Formal agriculture education and training provision Formal education is defined as: “a highly institutionalized, chronologically graded

and hierarchically structured “education system” spanning lower primary school and the upper reaches of the university” (Coombs, 1988:8).

In the North West Province, there are three formal Agriculture Education

institutions, namely: University of North West, Potchefstroom Agricultural College and Taung Agricultural College. Questionnaires were designed and sent to all these institutions to be filled by management, lecturing staff, as well as final year students. In addition to information from respondents, secondary data from such sources as calendars of these institutions were used for inputs. The results are presented below:

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4.2.1 University of North West, Potchefstroom and Taung Agricultural Colleges CURRICULUM The following table presents the courses and programmes offered by the

University of North West, Taung College of Agriculture and Potchefstroom College. Table 4.1: Qualifications offered by formal AET institutions in the North West

Institution Qualification offered

Specialization and core subjects

Total credits

Duration

Diploma Animal Health 372 3 years Advanced Diploma

Animal Health 120 1 year (full time)

Post Graduate Diploma

Agricultural Economics and Management Agricultural Extension

126 1 year (full time)

Bsc Land Management 372 3 years (full time)

University of North West

Bsc in Agriculture

Animal science Crop Science Agric. Economics Animal Health

486 480 480 498

4 years (full time) 4 years (full time) 4 years (full time) 4 years (full time)

Higher certificate in Agriculture

Mixed farming (Crops, Horticulture, Soil science, Beef, Dairy, Small stock, Pigs, Poultry, Pasture science, Agric Engineering)

240 2 years Potch College of Agriculture

Diploma in Agriculture

Same as Higher certificate, except that Diploma students do: Compulsory assignments, Minimum four optional assignments and some short courses, all in the third year

360 3 years (full time)

B. Tech in Agricultural Management

Agric Management Offered on behalf of Pretoria Tech and accredited at the same level as Technikon qualifications

- 3 years

Taung College of Agriculture

Higher certificate Farming Management - 2 years (full time)

NB. The courses offered by the University are also offered up to post graduate level. The university is more academically inclined whereas the other two institutions are more technical in orientation.

The following table presents the view of students on the quality of teaching and

support regarding the above mentioned institutions:

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Table 4.2: Assessment of Teaching Content by Students

UNW (N=31) POTCH COLLEGE

ITEM RATING

FREQ % FREQ %

Quality of practicals No response 3 10 0 0 Poor 3 10 0 0 Unsatisfactory 6 19 5 25 Satisfactory 13 42 8 40 Good 6 19 7 35 Quality of teaching No response 2 6 0 0 Poor 1 3 1 5 Unsatisfactory 8 26 5 25 Satisfactory 14 45 10 50 Good 6 19 4 20 Quality of material No response 5 16 0 0 Poor 2 6 0 0 Unsatisfactory 10 32 6 30 Satisfactory 8 26 8 40 Good 6 19 6 30 Staff quality No response 2 6 0 0 Poor 5 16 1 5 Unsatisfactory 4 13 3 15 Satisfactory 1 3 13 65 Good 19 61 3 15

More than half of students of both institutions are therefore not satisfied with the

quality of practicals and learning material. This has to do with the inadequate provision of learning support material as expressed in a list of constraints cited in the subsequent discussion. The majority of the university students are of the opinion that their teachers are good while to the contrary a minority of Potchefstroom College students feel the same with their teachers.

METHOD OF PROVIDING TRAINING Training provided from these institutions mainly involves full time training although

the university offers some programmes on part time basis. The students have to master all aspects of a prescribed curriculum. They receive instruction (theory and practicals) from the Lecturers and they are expected to do independent learning through various assignments. To gauge whether students have fully grasped what they were taught, they have to write tests and an examination and accumulate a minimum number of credits before they could be certified as having satisfied the requirements of the course.

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TARGET CLIENTS Table 4.3: Primary Clients of Formal AET Institutions in North West

Type of Client University of North West

Potch College

Taung College

Students (Commercial farming orientation)

X √ X

Students (Employment in Public sector)

√ √ √

Students (Employment in Private sector)

√ √ X

Students (Employment as Farm Managers)

X √ X

Students (Strong research orientation)

√ X X

Students (Self employment)

√ √ √

Commercial farmers

X √ X

Emerging farmers

X X X

The University is an academic institution that is strongly research orientated and

produces students for public and private sector employment. Potchefstroom College on the other hand produces hands on students who are well suited to farm on their own as commercial farmers or farm managers in addition being suitable for employment in private and public sector. Taung College produces students for self employment and employment in the public sector.

ENROLMENT The table below presents the number of students, their gender and race in the two

colleges and the university.

Table 4.4: Enrolment at Formal AET Institutions in North West (2002)

Institution

Male Female Total White Black

Uniwest 419 356 775 0 100% Potch College 332 18 350 65% 35% Taung College 24 11 35 0 100%

The University of North West and Taung College of Agriculture students are black

in race due to the fact that it is rurally based and has historically been so as these are the institutions that have served former homeland of Bophuthatswana. On the contrary, the majority of students in Potchefstroom College are white. The majority

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of students in all these institutions are male which clearly indicates gender imbalance in regard to the pursuit of agriculture training.

MANAGEMENT

Table 4.5: Management of formal AET Institutions in North West

Institution

How is it managed?

University of North West

Information not available

Potch College Under daily management of the Principal, who is assisted by the Registrar (Finances and Admin), as well as the Head of Academics and the Student affairs Officer. The College gets funding from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment in North West and the college management report to the Director Technical support services in Potchefstroom

Taung College The college is also managed overall by the Director Technical support services. The college is under management of the Principal, who is assisted by the Registrar.

COST OF TUITION

Table 4.6: Cost of tuition (per semester) at formal AET institution in North West

Cost item

Uniwest Potch College Taung College

Tuition fees (Students) R55.00/Credit R250/subject R1 430/ Semester

Hostel Accommodation RE2 300.00 R3 750,00/ Semester

R2 760.00/ Semester

Total costs (students) with accommodation

Have to calculate credits first

R7 700.00 R4 190.00

Total costs (students) without accommodation

Have to calculate credits first

R3 950.00 R1 430.00

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HUMAN RESOURCES

4.2.7 Qualifications

Table 4.7: Qualifications of Academic staff at formal AET Institutions in North West

Uniwest Potch College Taung College Qualification Mngt Lecturing Mngt Lecturing Mngt Lecturing

PhD

4 1 0 0 0 0

MSC Degree

1 5 1 6 0 0

Honours Degree/ Higher Diploma

1 4 2 6 0 2

Junior Degree/Diploma

7 0 0 1 3

Higher Certificate

0 0 0 0 N/A* 0

Certificate

0 0 0 0 N/A* 0

N/A* The information was not provided. Note that technicians are also included under lecturing staff under Uniwest and they form the majority of staff under those having junior degrees/diplomas.

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EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT Table 4.8: Physical resources of formal AET Institutions in North West

Description Uniwest Potch College Taung College Lecturing Halls 34 (30-380 seats) 4 (100 seats each) 4 (30,40,50,60

seats) Accommodation N/A*

N/A* 156 students

Demo Centres N/A* 4 (see practical facilities)

15 (see practical facilities)

Mobile Training Units

1 minibus None None

Live stock Prac Facilities

3 multi purpose 1 Dairy, 1 Sheep handling, 1 Beef handling (AI)

8 Livestock practical facilities

Crop Prac Facilities

1 1 Horticulture facility

5 crop facilities

Library 1 1, fully equipped, 6620 books, 51 journals, 6128 bound publication serials

1

Laboratories 3 (Animal science) Crop science and Animal Health)

1 Soil science, 1 Pasture science, 1Agronomy

4

Access to Internet

Yes Yes Yes (for staff only)

No of computers 26 staff 13 Agric. students

14 for Academic support, 14 for Admin/ Technical support, 20 for student use, 3 other

14 for staff use 20 for students use

Other Farm 158 ha Dairy 2 Green houses 1 Animal Health clinic

3 workshops: Mechanical, Metal and Welding Carpentry, Building and Construction

+ 200 ha of land

N/A* Information not provided

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Table 4.9: Perception of the University of North West About Facilities 0 = No response 1 = poor 2 = Unsatisfactory 3 = Satisfactory 4 = Good ADEQUACY CONDITION RELEVANCE SCALE 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4

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The majority of respondents did not respond regarding most of the items.

However, for those that responded they are of the opinion that the adequacy of facilities is poor to unsatisfactory. Regarding the physical condition of facilities they are of the opinion that they unsatisfactory and regarding their relevance they are of the opinion that they are very relevant and actually necessary for fruitful learning.

LIST OF PERCEPTIONS OF STAFF ABOUT CONSTRAINTS

1. Cooperation between state and Universities 2. Equity in resource distribution 3. Lack of infrastructure and facilities 4. Lack of funding for research 5. Lack of market information 6. Poor agricultural education programmes at formal institutions 7. Poor agricultural extension service 8. Poor transfer of skills from commercial farmers to small scale

farmers 9. Lack of communication between extensionist, farmer and

researcher The Deputy-Dean of the University of North West school of Agriculture

indicates his institution would like to have the following qualities in their students, in relation to the job market requirements: Adequate theoretical knowledge, Adequate hands on experience, Self confidence, Good communication skills and Computer literacy. He further mentioned that the institution does not have formal linkages with ex-students and that they do not have mechanisms of gauging the effectiveness of their ex-students in the Agricultural industry and neither do they hardly ever get feedback from employers regarding the quality of the students produced by their institution. He, however, highlighted the fact that though they have never conducted tracer studies of their ex-students, through informal contacts, they have an idea that since 1994, a good number of them remained unemployed for as long as 3 years or more, after graduating.

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Table 4.10: Perceptions of former students (Extension staff) of Taung College and University of North West regarding the quality of education received at these institutions at different periods

Period and respondents

North West University Taung College

Period

Number 0 1 2 3 4 0 1 2 3 4

Variable

- - - - - - - 1 3 5 Theory - - - - - - - 1 3 5 Practical - - - - - - - 2 2 5 Experiential training - - - - - - - 1 3 5 Extension

1970 – 1979 9

- - - - - - 1 2 3 3 Research 1 - 1 12 7 2 - - 1 1 Theory 1 - 1 9 11 2 - 1 1 - Practical 1 - 7 9 4 2 - - 2 - Experiential training 1 - 4 10 6 1 - 1 1 1 Extension

1980 – 1989 23

3 1 6 9 2 2 - 1 - - Research 1 1 - 3 8 1 - 1 9 8 Theory - - 3 5 5 1 - - 3 # Practical - - 3 5 5 1 - 2 9 7 Experiential training - - 1 8 4 1 3 6 7 2 Extension

1990 – 1999 32

1 1 5 3 3 1 1 9 6 2 Research - - - - 1 1 - - 2 - Theory -- - - - 1 1 - - - 2 Practical -- - - 1 - 1 - - 2 - Experiential training Other

4

- - 1 - - 1 - 2 - - Extension

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The former students of Taung College and University of North West, spanning a three time periods from 1970, indicate that they are satisfied with the training received from these institutions, as measured by theoretical background, Practical skills, Experiental training, Extension and Research. It is rather surprising that almost 50% of the former students of Taung College (from 1970 – 1999) have indicated their satisfaction with research skills imparted to them by this college, because according to the opinion of the researchers, this institution was never geared for strong emphasis in research. Again, Government service managers have always maintained that students coming from these institutions are not well equipped in practical skills, but from the information on the above table, ex students seem to be quite satisfied with the practical training they obtained from these institutions. In terms of current realities, these institutions are expected to comply with the provisions of the SAQA Act and to subject themselves to regular reviews to meet certain norms. In terms of the University of North West, SAQA and the University senate set these standards for quality control. In terms of the Potch and Taung College, SAQA sets the standards.

4.2.2 Agriculture High schools and High Schools offering agriculture as a

subject CURRICULUM Table 4.11: Subjects offered by schools Institutions in North West Province

Institution

Core Subjects or Subject combination

Maths Agriculture High schools Science Subjects (Physics, Biology) Nature studies Animal Husbandry Field/Crop Husbandry Agriculture Science High Schools offering

Agriculture science plus Natural sciences

agriculture as a subject

Agriculture science, Natural sciences, plus maths

Agriculture science plus Commercial sciences Agriculture, Natural sciences, plus Social sciences Agriculture science, Natural sciences, plus Commercial

Sciences Agriculture science, Commercial sciences, plus Maths Natural sciences science, Commercial sciences, plus Maths

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METHOD OF PROVIDING TRAINING Training provided from these institutions mainly involve full time training at

the institution, where students have to master all aspects of a prescribed curriculum. Students receive instruction from the Teachers on the theoretical and practical aspects (where practical facilities permit) of the curriculum. To gauge whether students have fully grasped what they were taught, they have to write tests and an examination before they could be certified as having satisfied the requirements of the particular grade.

TARGET CLIENTS

Table 4.12: Primary clients of Agriculture High Schools and High Schools offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West

Type of Client Schools offering Agriculture as a

subject

Agriculture High Schools

Learners (Self employment)

X √

Learners (Tertiary Education)

√ √

ENROLMENT

Table 4.13: Enrolment at Agriculture High Schools and High schools offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West (2002)

Institution

(Schools Offering Agriculture as a subject)

Male Female Total White Black

P.H. Moeketsi High 99 80 179 - 179 Hoërskool Sannieshof 22 4 26 26 0 Wagpos High N/A* N/A* 87# 87 0 Ventersdorp Hoërskool N/A* N/A* 39# 10 0 Kromellenboog Combined School

N/A* N/A* 10# 10 0

N/A* Information not supplied # Grade 12 pupils only

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MANAGEMENT Table 4.14: Management of Agriculture High schools and High schools offering Agriculture as a subject in the North West

Institution

How they are managed

Schools offering Agriculture as a subject

Under daily management of the Principal, who is assisted by the admin staff as well as the Head of Department. In terms of other issues pertaining to the general management of the institutions, the School Governing Bodies (SGB’s) give direction. The schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education and in terms of policy, resources and curriculum, the Department gives direction.

Agriculture High Schools

Under daily management of the Principal, who is assisted by the admin staff as well as the Head of Department. In terms of other issues pertaining to the general management of the institutions, the School Governing Bodies (SGB’s) give direction. The schools fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education and in terms of policy, resources and curriculum, the Department gives direction.

COST OF TUITION Table 4.15: Cost of tuition (per annum) at High schools

Cost item Schools offering Agriculture as a subject

Agriculture High schools

Tuition fees (Learners)

- -

Hostel Accommodation

- -

Total costs (learners) with accommodation

+ R10 000 + R50 000.00

Total costs (learners) with-out accommodation

- -

QUALIFICATIONS Information obtained from the subject advisory services of the Department of Education highlights the following information with regard to qualifications of teachers at High schools offering Agriculture as a subject. According to them, the relevant qualification needed for teaching agriculture in the school is a degree in Agriculture (B. Agric or B.Sc. Agric) plus a professional qualification or certificate in the teaching field.

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The educators teaching agricultural science as a subject have been categorized into the following categories by the subject advisory services:

• Number of educators having a degree in agriculture as well as professional qualifications i.e. education qualification. There are about 20 educators falling in this category.

• Number of educators having a diploma in agriculture as well as a professional qualification. Only 6 educators fall in this category. • Number of educators having a diploma in agriculture as well as a professional qualification. Only 6 educators fall in this category. • Number of educators having ordinary qualifications but teaching

agricultural science. Some of these educators have a degree that is not relevant to agriculture. There are about 204 educators falling in this category.

The majority of teachers are therefore not qualified in terms of agricultural technical and theoretical information. PHYSICAL RESOURCES According to information obtained from the subject advisory services, there are only five schools in the province that are considered to be pure agricultural schools because they have practical facilities to enable them to conduct practicals, they have access to water and electricity, have well equipped librariers and laboratories and have well developed plots or gardens for practical farming experience. These are:

• Wagpos Hoërskool in Brits • Sannieshof Hoërskool in Sannieshof • Ventersdorp Hoërskool in Ventersdorp • P.H. Moeketsi Agric school in Taung • Kromellenboog Combined School in Christiana

The latter two schools register only black learners. Information obtained from the subject advisory services is that infrastructural development at Ventersdorp Hoërskool and Kromellenboog Combined School is not up to scratch in terms of practical facilities, to support practical subjects. It was further stated that the rest of the schools (160 of them) fall under the academic schools i.e. schools offering agriculture science as a subject but not having practical facilities to orientate learners in the practical framework of agriculture. The approach of teaching agriculture in these schools is basically theoretical. The bulk of black learners are enrolled and taught at these schools.

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Table 4.16: Physical resources of Agric High schools in North West Province

Description High schools offering Agriculture

as a subject

Agriculture High

Schools Number with Access to Electricity

N/A* All High Schools

Number with access to clean water

N/A*

Number with Live stock Practical facilities

N/A*

Number with Crop Practical Facilities

N/A*

Number with Horticulture practical facilities

N/A*

Number with Library facilities

N/A*

Number with Laboratory facilities

N/A*

Number with access to Internet facilities

N/A* N/A*

N/A* Information not supplied 4.3 NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS Non-formal education, which is defined as any organized, systematic,

educational activity carried on outside the framework of the formal system to provide selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the population, adults as well as children. Amongst the types that can be classified under this category include: agricultural extension and farmer training programs, adult literacy programs, occupational skill training given outside the formal system, youth clubs with substantial educational purposes and various community programs of instruction in health, nutrition in health, nutrition, family planning and cooperatives Coombs: 1978:8). An NGO operating in the North West Province is presented below.

4.3.1 NGO’s The non governmental organizations that provide training in the North

West are few and one has been chosen as a case study. This organization is skills for All.

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4.3.1.1 Skills for All COURSES/TRAINING PROVIDED (CURRICULUM) The following courses are offered on average per annum at Skills for All:

Course Number/ Annum

Length in days

Theory: Practical ratio

AVCASA 20 5 30:70 Aquaculture - - - Agricultural Management - Agricultural Economics 40 10 50:50 - Business and Project Plan 40 5 50:50 - Communication 40 1 50:50 - Financial Management 40 5 50:50 - Marketing 40 3 30:70 - Organization/Rural development 20 3 50:50 - Personnel Management 40 3 50:50 - Supervisors 15 10 40:60 - SMME 10 5 50:50 - 6 M 60 2.5 50:50 Agricultural Engineering - Fencing 10 10 20:80 - Irrigation 40 5 20:80 - Lorry Drivers License 40 15 20:80 - Mechanization 40 10 20:80 - Processing of produce 20 10 20:80 - Animal products 20 10 20:80 - Crop products 20 10 20:80 - Tractor maintenance 20 10 20:80 - Tractor Drivers license 20 15 20:80 - Welding 10 15 20:80 Animal Husbandry Large Stock - Dairy 10 10 20:80 - Beef 10 10 20:80 - Artificial Insemination 5 5 40:60 Small Stock - Sheep and Wool 10 10 20:80 - Goats 10 10 20:80 - Ostrich rearing Can offer,

but there is

no demand

- Artificial Insemination 2 5 40:60 Animal Health - Pigs 10 10 20:80

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Course Number/ Annum

Length in days

Theory: Practical ratio

- Poultry 40 10 20:80 Deciduous Fruit - Pruning 5 5 20:80 - Production 5 5 20:80 Sub-tropical Fruit - - - Life skills 20 2 50:50 - Meeting procedures 20 1 50:50 - Youth Development 5 1 50:50 - Communication 5 1 50:50 - Sanitation - - - - Finance 10 1 50:50 - Literacy 2 10 30:70 - Numeracy 2 10 30:70 Organic Farming - - - Land Use Planning - - - Pasture Management 5 5 20:80 Soil science - - - Table Grapes - Pruning 2 2 20:80 - Production - - - Vegetables - General/Open 40 10 20:80 - Tunnels 40 10 20:80 Viticulture - - - - Pruning - Production Wine Making (SKOP) Other Specify Total number of courses presented per annum

803

TARGET GROUPS The target groups for Skills for All are:

• Community gardens • Rural communities • Urban Agriculture • Farm workers • Commercial farming • Resource poor farmers

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ENROLMENT In terms of enrolment, the following number of clients are covered

annually on average: Type of client Number Commercial farmers 150 Farm workers 250 New Farmers 400 Urban Farmers 200 Unemployed 2 000 Other 1 000 In terms of gender and age composition of the clients, the situation is as follows: Male (%) Female (%) Youth (%) Adults (%) 40 60 20 80 METHOD OF TRAINING Depending on the type of skills to be transferred, the training is geared

towards a balanced theory/practical presentation, or alternatively more of practical training. Training is taken to the people, i.e. On farms, in rural communities and in Urban centers.

COST OF TUITION

The cost of tuition per student is as follows: Cost (R) Accommodation (3 meals included) 100.00 Lunch (excluding accommodation) 25.00 Tuition (excluding accommodation) 90.00 – 100.00 Tuition (including tea and lunch) 135.00 Tuition (including accommodation and catering) 200.00 HUMAN RESOURCE The composition of staff is as follows: Permanent staff Number Male Female Agric scientists 1 1 - Agric technicians 4 2 2 Non-Academic staff 16 14 2

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Admin/Support 4 1 3 CONTRACTED STAFF Agric technicians 3 3 - The situation with regard staff’s highest qualifications is as follows: Qualification Number of staff per category Management Training Admin/support

Post Graduate 1 1 - Higher diploma - 5 - Diploma in Agric - 2 - Higher certificate - 2 - Certificate - 6 - Matric - 4 4 The situation with regard to average experience of staff (permanent and

contracted) is as follows: Staff per category Experience in years Teaching Industry Agric scientists 20 25 Agric technician 12 15 Non Academic 5 8 Admin/Support 12 14 Financial resources The institution relies solely on external sources of funding and the sources

of funding are indicated below: Source of Funding % Contribution Government 70 Sponsorships 20 Student fees 10 PHYSICAL RESOURCES

The following Infrastructure is available for teaching/farmer training purposes at Skills for All:

INFRASTRUCTURE AVAILABLE

• Lecturing Halls : 4 (100 seats capacity each) • Accommodation : For 12 students at a time (for full-time training)

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Skills for All also does mobile training on the premises of the client. They take the equipment with to the workplace of the client/participant to conduct training there. In terms of in-house training at their center, they utilize the facilities available at Potchefstroom Agricultural College. Skills for All did not indicate any additional facilities or equipment they might require in order to make them much more effective. 4.4 INFORMAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS Informal education is a lifelong process by which every person acquires

and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences and exposure to the environment (Coombs, 1978:8). Subsequent discussion deals with institutions that provide informal training.

4.4.1 GOVERNMENT AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES COURSES/TRAINING GIVEN TO FARMERS AND NUMBER TRAINED The following courses have been given to farmers by the Extension

Services (DFS) of the Department during the financial year 2001/2002. (These figures come from only a few ADC’s in the Rustenburg region only. Training given was in a form of training courses, lessons and demonstrations and some of these topics have been clustered together.

Generic/Specific topics Number

Trained Training recipient

Pest control-Field and Horticulture crops 126 Emerging Farmers Pest control-Livestock 384 Emerging Farmers Weed control 16 Emerging Farmers Livestock breeding/Selection/culling 30 Emerging Farmers Fertilization/Soil analysis 87 Emerging Farmers Livestock Feeding 6 Emerging Farmers Disease control-Crops 42 Emerging Farmers Disease control-Livestock 59 Emerging Farmers Engineering/Infrastructure erection 9 Emerging Farmers Packaging, Marketing, Financing Business 105 Emerging Farmers Irrigation 16 Commercial FarmersBasic Vegetable production 401 Emerging Farmers Transplanting 67 Emerging Farmers Livestock practical (dehorning, etc.) 60 Emerging Farmers Poultry management 99 Emerging Farmers Pig management 21 Emerging Farmers Beef cattle management 30 Emerging Farmers Veld and Pasture management 22 Emerging Farmers

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Cultivar choice 78 Emerging Farmers Hydrophonic vegetable production 28 Emerging Farmers Cashmere production 37 Emerging Farmers Table grape production 81 Commercial FarmersFruit production 7 Emerging Farmers Policy issues Generic/Support issues 122 Emerging Farmers Field measurement 20 Emerging Farmers NB: The number of people trained does not necessarily mean that different people have been trained, but can also imply that the same people have been exposed to different training programs. METHOD OF TRAINING PROVISION Training to farmers is usually based on identified training needs, but at times it based on what is perceived as needs of farmers by field staff. Farmers are given training through: Formal training courses, demonstrations, lessons, farmers days and field tours. The knowledge and skill transfer is not based on standard units of competencies which have to be mastered, but each training intervention is designed by each Technician to suit the needs and circumstances of the recipients. Because of the decentralized nature of the department, training is usually taken to where farmers are. COST OF TRAINING Farmers do not pay anything for the training they receive from the Department. However, should they decide to organize courses for themselves with other private institutions, they are to carry the costs of the training. TARGET GROUPS The following have been identified as target clients of Vet Services and Developmental Field Services:

• Farmers (Commercial and small scale or emerging) • Women (special programmes to empower them to participate meaning fully in agriculture) • Youth (Special programmes to encourage their participation) • Farmer organizations (Unions, cooperatives) • Other stakeholders (e.g. Research institutes)

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HUMAN RESOURCES The composition of staff is as follows: (Developmental field services, Veterinary services and Policy formulation and Information)

Permanent Staff Number Animal Health Technicians 100 Agric Technicians 264 Veterinary Technicians 8 Meat Inspectors 15 Agric Economists 9 Agric Scientists 12 State Vets 14 Managers 37 FINANCIAL RESOURCES

The institution relies solely on Government for funding.

PHYSICAL RESOURCES

The following Infrastructure is available for farmer training pruposes.

LECTURING HALLS

• 385 100 seater halls available at Field Service Units (FSU’s) 20 of

them have electricity and 16 are supplied with chairs. ACCOMMODATION

The Kgora resource center can accommodate 64 people at a time, at the following rates:

• R50.00 per lecture hall per day, irrespective of number of people • R30.00 per person per night • R22.00 per dinner per person • R22.00 per lunch per person • R12.00 per breakfast per person

Demonstration centers

There are eight demonstration units at the Kgora resource center and all the FSU’s spread throughout the province have the potential to serve as demonstration units (on site).

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4.5 RESEARCH INSTITUTES (TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES (TSS) AND ARC-INSTITUTE FOR INDUSTRIAL CROPS-(ARC-IIC)) COURSES/TRAINING GIVEN TO FARMERS AND NUMBER TRAINED The following training courses have been given by staff of the Technical Support Services and ARC-IIC in the past twelve months:

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES ARC-IIC Computer courses (191 staff members of NWP Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment)

The institution has conducted the following courses, targeting Extension Officers, Master farmers, Small scale farmers (Makhatini flats and the Eastern Cape)

Training courses, demonstrations, information days and FSRE have been given on the following subjects: (Targeted 651 Extension staff and Emerging farmers, as well as 300 school children)

Cotton Production

Game farming Hemp production Devil’s claw Kenaf Production Bush encroachment Tobacco Production Control of prosopis Veld rehabilitation Coordination of technical and financial assistance to maize Farmers in Ditsobotla (Maize Extension pilot project)

Awareness on proper fodder utilization Veld management Calf management Beef Herd management Record keeping of livestock Farm management Boer goat management Selection at weaning and breeding SA Mutton Merino information day Cashmere production Integrated food production and inter cropping Food security Production of different crops Vegetable production Cultivation and fertilization of crops Hydrophonics Formal lectures to Potch College students on topics such as cattle and sheep management, cattle judging and practical use of Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (BLUP) in animal breeding

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Training by both Institutes is either based on identified needs of clients or on training needs as Identified by the research staff based on their experience in the field, or as a result of introduction of new technology and crop and animal varieties. In addition to the training given, these institutes have been engaged in the following research activities in the past twelve months, which have a training component in them as well:

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES

ARC-IIC

*Combating bush encroachment *Fertilization of air cured tobacco *Veld management and rehabilitation *Nutrient uptake of flue cured tobacco *Veld monitoring *Irrigation cotton project *Commercial utilization of devil’s claw *Verticillium wilt tolerance of Cotton *Lick supplementation *Cotton Pest Control Strategies *Various fodder flow programmes for sheep

*Indigenous crops *Cotton as a new rotation crop for small holder farmers

*Fertility in the Afrikaner cattle breed *Development of a new cotton variety for resource poor farmers

*Boergoat production and the potential for cashmere production.

*Pest control of KENAF

*Phase D Performance testing of beef cattle

*Pest control of bollworms with sorghum

Boergoat and sheep for distribution of suitable breeding material to farmers, mainly emerging farmers [Afrikaners, Simmentalers, Bonsmaras, Brahman, Nguni, SA Mutton Merino, Dorper and Boergoat].

*Establishment of KENAF Industry in South Africa

*Integrated food production and inter cropping trials for food security

*Alternative bollworm control methods in Cotton

*Sweet potato multiplication trial *Evaluation of Pigcow pea as alternative crop

*Perennial fruit crops trials. *Evaluation of tobacco for nematode resistance

*Vegetable trials *Evaluation of cotton for nematode resistance

*Niche market trials *Evaluation of biological control agents for nematodes

*Guar bean trial *Jassid resistance project *Groundnut fertilization and rotation *Weed control strategies *Cultivation and fertilization trials

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TARGET GROUPS The following clients have been identified as target clients of both institutes


ARC-IIC TARGET CLIENT

Primary Secondary Primary Secondary Tertiary Emerging Farmers X √ √ X X Commercial Farmers X √ √ X X Extension Staff √ X √ X X School Children X √ X X √ University/College Students

X √ X √ X

Commodity Groups X √ X √ X Agro-Industries X √ √ X X HUMAN RESOURCE The composition of staff at these institutes is as follows:

DESCRIPTION OF STAFF


ARC-IIC

MALE FEMALE TOTAL MALE FEMALE TOTALResearch Technicians

18 4 22 16 12 28

Researchers 14 5 19 4 8 12 Managers 10 1 11 4 2 6 Engineers 1 - 1 - - - Industrial Technicians

1 - 1 - - -

TOTAL 44 10 54 24 22 46

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The situation with regard to staff highest qualifications is as follows: Q

UA

LIFI

CA

TIO

N

RES

EAR

CH

TE

CH

S

RES

EAR

CH

ERS

MA

NA

GER

S

ENG

INEE

RS

IND

UST

RIA

L TE

CH

S

INST

ITU

TIO

N

- 2 3 - - TSS PHD - 4 2 - - ARC-IIC - 3 2 - - TSS Msc 1 6 - - - ARC-IIC Honours/Higher - 9 2 1 - TSS Diploma - 2 - - - ARC-IIC B-Degrees/ 19 5 4 - 1 TSS Diploma 20 - - - - ARC-IIC Higher 2 - - - - TSS Certificate - - - - - ARC-IIC - - - - - TSS Certificate 1 - - - - ARC-IIC 1 - - - - TSS Matric 2 - - - - ARC-IIC

The situation with regard to average experience (years) of staff (permanent) is as follows:

DESCRIPTION OF STAFF TECHNICAL SUPPORTSERVICES

ARC-IIC

Research Technicians 7.6 5.2 Researchers 7.1 18.7 Managers 6.5 32.1 Engineers 5 - Industrial Technicians 6 - FINANCIAL RESOURCES

Source of Funding and Percentage Contribution

Technical Support Services

ARC-IIC

Government 100% 48 Private Sector - 8 Farmers - - Commodity Groups - 44 Other - -

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PHYSICAL RESOURCES The following Infrastructure is available for farmer training purposes:

DESCRIPTION OF PHYSICAL RESOURCE

ARC-IIC

Lecture Halls (Number and seating capacity) 3 (200) Number of Learners to be accommodated for full time training at a time (i.e. boarding facilities)

0

Number of Demonstration/Research Sites 8 (permanent) Number of Livestock Prac Facilities 20 (temporary) Number of crop Prac Facilities - Number of horticulture Prac Facilities 6 Number of Laboratories 6 Library Facilities available (Yes/No) 6 Number of computers for technical staff use yes Other 30 4.6 CONCLUSION/SUMMARY In conclusion, the following observation are arrived at: Regarding formal

education, institutions are lacking in resources and material that enhance learning. Some of the agricultural high schools are better equipped while some are not. Equity has to be brought so that they could operate on the same footing. There are fewer teachers qualified in agriculture in High Schools offering agriculture as a subject. The situation need to be improved by either recruiting teachers with agricultural training or retraining those that are already on the pay roll of the Department of Education. The Colleges are better posed as they are directly under the Department of agriculture, Conservation and Environment and are directly budgeted for. They are better resourced than other institutions.

There are fewer non governmental organizations offering agricultural

training in the North West. These institutions are better organized and flexible to provide training to their clients and therefore need to be encouraged.

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CHAPTER 5: AGRICULTURE EDUCATION AND TRAINING GAPS 5.1 INTRODUCTION This Chapter matches the needs of the stakeholders in terms of

Agriculture Education and Training with the training as provided by insti-tutions mentioned in chapter 4 above. This is done to establish the trai-ning gaps. In terms of deciding on the gaps as far as Agriculture Educa-tion and Training is concerned, the following factors have been conside-red: Whether training is targeting the right clients, whether training is alig-ned to clients needs, whether training, methods of training provision, costs of training, admission impediments, resources and capacity of training pro-viders, compliance of training with National standards, compatibility of trai-ning with imperatives.

5.2 Education and Training in relation to target clients 5.2.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions It is clear that Higher Education Institutions are in a process of emerging

from a historical legacy where Education was targeting (explicitly through selection policies and implicitly through other barriers such as the language factor) particular race groups. However, change is taking place to have all race groups access the facilities of these institutions. The most visible change is at the Potch Agricultural College, which has been known historically as a white institution. The historically black Institutions have unfortunately not shed the perception that they are meant to produce graduates targeting black clients. This image of historically black and white institutions, has created perceptions among clients, in particular African farmers, that there is still disparity between the Education offered at such Institutions, with historically black Institutions getting a raw deal in terms of resources and quality of education, which has implications for African farmer development as these Institutions are meant to produce graduates serving predominantly African farmers.

In terms of the mandate to these institutions by policy dictates of this

country, they are required to provide primarily tertiary Education in Agriculture and they cannot be faulted on this score. However, African farmers have indicated that they would like to see these Institutions play a much more prominent role in terms of Farmer training, which they are not doing currently. They therefore are not making an impact directly on farmers in terms of their capacity building. It is clear that the mandate of farmer training has been historically the preserve of Extension services and NGO’s and that for Higher Education Institutions to enter this arena of farmer training, changes have to be brought about in terms of: resource allocation, additional manpower, capacity building of the trainers in terms of farmer training methods, as well as the logistics of implementing such a

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decision given the spatial distribution of farmers in relation to the location of these Institutions. These Institutions have also not been seen playing an active role in the in-service training of staff at Government Institutions and NGO’s. This is critical in the light of the spatial distribution of farmers, especially emerging farmers, within the province, which makes the Government Extension services (because of their decentralization) and NGO’s (because of their mobile training facilities) ideally suited to providing training to these farmers. Training designed for these staff members would not require major adjustments because of the mobility of staff and also due to the fact that they have prior qualifications at a higher education level, they can understand concepts offered at this level. In terms of High schools, the agricultural education given particularly at High schools offering agriculture as a subject, seem not to be purposeful except that it is regarded as one of the subjects that learners may choose to arrive at a required number of subjects to be taken. Further neglect of these schools is even reflected by the high prevalence of non-agricultu-rally qualified teachers engaged in teaching this subject. There are also no practical facilities in these schools, let alone other supporting facilities such as libraries and laboratories. Such a situation is not conductive at all to effective teaching and learning of agriculture.

5.2.2 Informal and Non-formal Agriculture training institutions The major role players in terms of Informal and Non-formal training in

Agriculture are the NGO’s, Government Extension Services and Research Institutes. The only NGO in the province, Skills for All, have indicated that not only are they targeting all farmer clients and are capable of servicing them well in terms of the knowledge and skill requirements, but that they are being constrained from achieving their goal of training more farmers due to shortage of funds and trainers.

Government Extension services has the advantage of being decentralized

and such it is easily accessible to farmers, especially the emerging farmers. Though Government Extension services identifies all farmer categories as their clients, there is a serious gap in terms of servicing the commercial sector. This is mainly due to lack of capacity in terms of qualified Extension staff, as well as the unavailability and lack of capacity in the scientist support staff. The reality is that commercial farming (with the exception of a few commodity groups), is not being serviced currently by Government Extension services. The current scenario has implications for policy programmes such as the LRAD, in that newly established farmers on commercial farms will have difficulty getting quality training, especially where they want to venture into niche products unfamiliar to the current crop of Extension staff.

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The Government Extension services, in terms of current service provided to Emerging farmers, is conversant with basic to intermediate production of the following enterprises: Beef cattle farming, Poultry production, Pig production, Field Crops (Especially Maize, Sorghum, Sunflower and Groundnuts and Wheat production) and vegetables. Farmers who are venturing into the niche enterprises such as Hydrophonic Vegetable growing, Flower production, etc. cannot get enough support as there isn’t sufficient expertise to drive these new opportunities. Such farmers are implicitly excluded from support given by Government Extension services, as the focus is more on the above-mentioned traditional enterprises. Research institutes have been conducting training, targeting both farmers and extension staff. However, due to the fact that their primary responsibility is technology development, they have not been able to make much impact in terms of structured training targeting these groups. The ARC-TCRI has also complained about a lack of funding and resources in general, which constraints them from conducting research on a wider scale than they do currently. If the training element is added onto the current primary responsibilities of research, research targeting these farmers would be further compromised as the little resources available would be stretched even further. However, a lot of research that targets farmers mostly, has been conducted by these institutions. Since research has an element of training in it, it can be assumed that training took place at this level.

5.3 Education and Training in relation to clients needs 5.3.1 Non-formal Agriculture Education Institutions In terms of Higher Education Institutions, the content of the curriculum

caters for a wider range of subjects based on the mixed farming situation obtaining in the Province. However, the perception (which could not be verified as a fact during the research) from emerging farmers regarding the apparent poor quality of Education given at the Historically Black Institutions, means that something has to be done to address this perception as graduates from these institutions are absorbed mainly in Government services, to work with African farmers. It is unfortunate that Government Department managers could not give conclusive opinion as to the effectiveness of these institutions to produce graduates/diplomats who meet job requirements in terms of Theory, practical content, research and extension. However, it is evident that training offered at Potchefstroom College has a strong commercial farmer focus (this is supported by suitable facilities), which is also beneficial to emerging African farmers, but the training is lacking in terms of extension and research orientation, Products of this Institution are absorbed with ease in both the public and private sector. Training offered at Taung college is well suited to the level of emerging and new entrant farmers (this is also

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supported by suitable facilities), but cannot cope with the needs of the commercial farmer in terms of content, nor does it address the research capacities of students. Products of this Institution are absorbed in the Government extension service. Training offered by the University of North West is rich in theoretical training as well as Extension and through the curriculum is well suited to research by way of post graduate studies, this is hampered by a lack of suitable facilities and resources in general. Products of this Institution are mainly absorbed in the Government sector as Extension staff or Research Technicians. In terms of High Schools, it is quite clear that there is a difference in terms of Education received by learners of Agric High schools versus those of schools offering agriculture as a subject. Training offered by Agric High schools has a strong science orientation, which gives the learner a holistic kind of Education in Agriculture which can enable such a learner to: 1) become self employed as a farmer after completing matric, 2) further his/her studies at tertiary level with the option of pursuing Agricultural science or any science based qualification. This is supported by a strong practical training, which is made possible by the quality of staff, as well as the general facilities and resources. Schools offering Agriculture as a subject have a wide range of subject combinations, with Agriculture as the core subject. Many learners are forced to take Agriculture with the social science subjects (History and Biblical studies), rendering their chances of pursuing Agriculture science of any other science based qualification at tertiary level null and void. This is mostly influenced by a lack of qualified teachers in agriculture, as well as lack of facilities that support the teaching of science subjects. In rare occasions does one find again a combination of mathematics, science and agriculture, which basically means these learners will struggle at tertiary level due to poor background in mathematics and science. Most of the learners at these schools are not exposed to practical agriculture due to the fact that teachers are mostly not qualified to give such lessons, or that there are no facilities, or both.

5.3.2 Informal Agriculture training institutions In terms of NGO training programs, courses offered by such institutions

are accredited and therefore conform to certain standards in terms of content. These training courses are based on generic needs identified on a wide scale and have been categorized in terms of levels based on complexity of training content to be mastered. The Skills for All for example, has indicated that it provides training with high emphasis on practical (skill) training, which makes this highly suited to the requirements of emerging farmers. They have also indicated that they can pitch their training to suit the needs of commercial farmers as well. However, these courses may run the risk of not being flexible to the individual farmer

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training needs based on his/her level of development. Extensive training needs analysis (prerequisite knowledge and skills) would have to be done to determine the levels at which farmers are and to group them in terms of their levels, so that training can be pitched at the levels suited to the farmers, rather than using a one size fits all approach. Due to the fact that NGO’s are somehow centralized (despite the fact that they can reach farmers through mobile training units), they cannot provide after care services in a form of monitoring, evaluation and follow up training and/or advice. They do not have the capacity to render an effective after-care service.

In terms of Government Extension services, training courses offered to

farmers are not standardized to conform to certain norms in terms of quality of content, nor are they accredited. Each individual extention officer designs the message/content according to what he/she understands and therefore the quality of the training reaching farmers cannot be controlled. Most of the training given by Government Extension services is at the level of 1-2 when compared to the Unit standards offered by PAETA and they are mostly theory based. It is evident from the needs of emerging farmers that one of their priority training needs is busi-ness/financial management (enterpreneural skills), which skills are in scarce supply within the Government Extension services, hence it has been identified as a need by Extension staff. In terms of Commercial farmer training needs, the Government Extension services cannot meet most of the more specialized needs (with the exception of a few enterprises, such as table grape production, where there are staff members specializing in them), both vertically (i.e. higher level or complex needs), or horizontally (i.e. through expansion into new enterprises, or providing other supporting skills), but can play a meaning role in the training of farm workers. Due to the decentralized nature of the Extension services, it is in a position to provide some flexibility in terms of the content and methods of training provision, to suit the level of development of each individual farmer as identified during needs assessment and continually, through monitoring and evaluation. IT is also in a position to carry out after care services to such farmers in a form of further training and advice. The research institutes also do not provide training that is accredited, but most of these courses are somehow standardized by the institution itself in terms of content, in order to control the quality. Training given is usually of a generic, technical nature, which does not accommodate area specific and individual client needs. The ARC-IIC is a specialized institution dealing with tobacco and cotton (and other industrial crops) and thus has more capacity in terms of content relating to these crops, as well as other generic crop production practices such as soil preparation and calibration of equipment.

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The technical support services has expertise in a wide range of enterprises obtaining in the North West. Both institutions are quite adaptable to providing training at varying levels of complexity depending on the needs of the clients, but are constrained mainly by lack of resources to do so. An example of their adaptability is that training has been provided to farmers, Extension staff, as well as College students. The other shortcoming of these institutions is that they cannot provide the after care services as much as Extension services does.

5.4 Methods of Education and Training provision 5.4.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions In terms of Higher Education institutions, all of them are by law expected

to implement outcome based education and they are complying with this requirement. Training offered by these institutions is mainly instructor based, with a combination of theory/practical. Students are also expected to do some assignments as well as undertake field tours and also do experiential training. The experiential training offered by Potch College to Diploma students is, in comparison to that offered by the University of North West, very intensive as it gives an individual student sufficient contact time with an experienced farmer or a private sector organization. Most of the lecturing staff are well versed in formal methods of transferring knowledge and skills to students, which are mostly teacher centered and as products of these institutions have difficulty adapting (not necessarily because of lack of knowledge and skills) to the external environment of farmer development, which requires a different approach to that of a formal teacher student set up.

In terms of high schools, they are also expected to comply to outcome

based type of education. However, the major problem lies at the High schools offering agriculture as a subject, where teachers rely mostly on theoretical training and less or no practical training. Learners from such institutions would definitely have difficulty adapting to the demands of tertiary education when compared to those from Agric high schools.

5.4.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions The NGO’s usually provide their training in a form of short courses, with

theory and practical work balances in relation to the material to be learned. The only problem with using a single approach, where there is no follow-up and after care, is that it will not be very much effective given the dynamics surrounding farmer development and adoption of innovations. It is through the use of multiple methods that real and effective learning will take place. However, it should be noted that different stake holders do not exist in isolation and that what each does, reinforces one another’s work. If the NGO’s were to offer training courses in the absence of the after care provided by Extension services, such an

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approach would not be effective. The same comments as for NGO’s applies equally well in the case of Research Institutes, with the exception that research institutes do have research projects which have an element of farmer training in them and are therefore not one dimensional.

5.5 Cost of training 5.5.1 Formal Agriculture Education institutions In terms of Higher Education Institutions, formal Education costs are still

reasonable when compared to other institutions nation wide. The costs are lower at the historically black Institutions as compared to Potch College, which is a historically white institution.

The same situation applies for Agric High schools and High schools

offering agriculture as a subject, where it costs a fortune to attend at Agric High schools than ordinary high schools. This could be a deterrent for the historically disadvantaged but deserving learners, unless they are supported through bursaries.

5.5.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions With respect to NGO’s, which receives most of the funding from

government, the costs are very reasonable and within access by many farmers, irrespective of level. This is due mainly to the involvement of government in the funding of such institutions. It is also important to note that emerging farmers have in the past been able to access further subsidies to this highly subsidized training from the Department of Labour, as well as Land Bank.

In terms of training provided by Government department agencies, such

as the Extension services and Technical support services, farmers have been able to access this training at no cost to them. However, the cost of training provided to staff and farmers, has not been properly worked out and quantified in relation to other service providers.

As far as institutions such as the ARC are concerned (where training is not

highly subsidized by Government), a different situation applies. The high cost of training is one of the factors that can make the expertise available at this institution inaccessible to emerging farmers.

5.5.3 Admission requirements 5.5.3.1 Formal Agriculture Education institutions The admission requirement for diplomas and B.Agric do not indicate a

particular preference in terms of subject combination, or biasness towards science background. Though it is a fact that these qualifications are not intended to produce scientists in the strict sense, it should be acknowledged agriculture is a science and that learners getting into this

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field without some basic background of physical science and most importantly mathematics, would not only struggle in their studies to understand some of the scientific concepts, but would continue to struggle in their careers, as scientific knowledge continues to evolve.

5.5.3.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions Non-formal agriculture institutions do not have any formal or pre-stated

admission requirements. However, in cases where formal and accredited courses are to be given according to levels or grades, it is expected that any farmer attending a higher level course, should have pre-requisite knowledge and skills pertaining to the preceding level. It cannot be expected of a farmer to deal with a much more advanced concept such as calibration of equipment or dipping tank, when he/she does not have basic numeracy skills. This is where some of the problems are encountered,where training in agriculture is not done in conjunction with training in basic education, life skills and rural development in general, nor does it take into cognizance the degree of proficiency in the pre-requisite skills and knowledge.

5.6 Resources and Capacity 5.4.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions In terms of resources, it is clear that Potchefstroom College (in

comparison to Taung College and University of North West) is the most resourced and is also well positioned, given its location next to two research institutes, namely: ARC summer crop institute and Technical support services of the Department of Agriculture. Next in terms of resource capacity is Taung College. The University of North West is the least resourced of these institutes. In addition to lack of resources, the quality of teaching can also be compromised by the fact that the lecturer/student ratio is very high at this institution.

As far as high schools are concerned, it is a fact that academic high

schools do not have the resources (financial and infrastructural) to offer quality teaching of Agriculture and other science subjects. Quality teaching of agriculture, which is a practical subject, is impossible. Learners from these institutions would have difficulty adapting to tertiary education and would take time to adjust to the rigours of farming, should they decide to venture into framing after completing matric. Of the Agricultural high schools in the province, Kromellenboog Combine School and Ventersdorp High need further support in terms of resources, in order for them to fulfill properly their mandate as pure agricultural schools.

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5.4.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions Of all the institutions in the non-formal training, the Department of

Agriculture is the most decentralized and accessible to farmers. This is mainly due to the Farmer support units (FSU’S) spread all over the villages in the province. However, though these centers have a huge potential to serve as centers for farmer training, they are not fulfilling this role effectively due to the fact that they are not very well developed to serve as farmer training and demonstration centers and even those that are well developed, extension officers are not utilizing them well for farmer training and demonstration. The other center that still needs to live to its’ potential as a farmer training center, is the Kgora Resource center based in Ramatlabama. It must be noted that besides these centers, government has over years, spent a lot of money developing infrastructure in rural areas, such as poultry houses, piggeries, food plots, crush pens and dipping tanks. This infrastructure is there to support the extension staff in their farmer training programs, and needs to be exploited fully. The Skills for all has invested mainly in mobile training resources and is working in collaboration with Potch college to utilize its’ facilities for on-site training. The only problem with mobile training is the after care, which if not done properly, farmers find it difficult to implement what they have learned. The Skills for All does not have the capacity for after care and would thus have to work closely with the government extension services in this regard. In terms of the research institutes, only the ARC-IIC has come out very clearly in terms of citing a lack of equipment and resources as impediments to their ability to conduct research and training. However, it does not mean that the TSS does not have a need for such assistance. If these institutes cannot be equipped with adequate facilities to conduct basic and applied research, which is their primary responsibility, it would be difficult for them to assume additional responsibilities on farmer and staff training.

5.5 Compliance of Education and Training to National standards (NQF & SAQA) 5.5.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions All the formal institutions offering education are regulated in terms of

government statutes and are therefore compelled to conform to certain quality standards. The formal institutions in the province are being monitored on a regular basis, to check whether the quality of education offered is according to agreed standards as set out for each qualification.

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5.5.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions In terms of informal and non-formal institutions, only the Skills for All offers

courses that are accredited in terms of SAQA requirements. The Department of Agriculture as well as the research institutes, offer general courses that have not been accredited. Whatever quality control is done, it is an internal and self regulating mechanism, which is not subject to external quality control or review.

5.6 Compatibility of Education and Training with Imperatives 5.6.1 Formal Agriculture Education Institutions The formal institutions still have to do much in terms of supporting the

small, medium and macro enterprise (SMME) drive as advocated by government. They do not have specific courses (such as entrepreneurial training) targeting the agriculture specific SMME, which are necessary to support global competitiveness and productivity. The formal linkages (as pertain to farmer training and research) between these institutions and government departments are weak and as such any research done by academic staff at these institutions, is not a product reflecting consensus views as to research priorities in the province. Government also advocates integration amongst government institutions, for the purpose of sharing resources and expertise, as well as avoiding duplication. Such integration and collaboration is not happening in the formal institutions.

5.6.2 Non-formal Agriculture training institutions Informal and non-formal institutions in the province are not working as an

integrated group of training and research providers, who are targeting one and the same client. This situation results in a lot of duplication of resources and effort, in terms of content, it is only the Skills for All that has courses on entrepreneurial development of farmers.

A lack of entrepreneurial skills is one of the contributing factors to the

collapse of many government funded and supported projects and this is important if sustainable job creation is to be taken seriously. The other gap is in relation to training on value adding, which if it was there, could boost job creation in the secondary agriculture. One of the serious impediments to addressing global competitiveness and economic growth is the current inability of government extension services to reach out to commercial farmers in terms of training.

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5.7 Conclusion and Summary The North West province is reasonably well resourced in terms of

institutions that provide agriculture education and training. What is needed is additional resources to capacitate and strengthen those that are weak and to encourage collaboration and integration to achieve greater effectiveness.

The other thing that is important is to encourage greater stakeholder

participation in curriculum development, as well as setting general training and research priorities. The contribution of all institutions to entrepreneur-rial development of farmers and SMME structures, is an area that needs to be focused on if job creation economic growth and global competitiveness is to be achieved. Commercial farmers, as well as Land reform beneficiaries, have to be given attention by government extension services, if the economy is to grow through increased contribution of Agriculture to the provincial GGP.

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CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this chapter is to present recommendations that could serve as guidance in terms of improving Agriculture Education and Training in the Province. The recommendations are mainly informed by the gaps identified in Chapter five, as well as suggestions put forward by various stakeholders. 6.1 Formal Institutions 6.1.1 Universities and Colleges FORMAL TRAINING AND CURRICULUM As far as formal training is concerned, the following recommendations are

made:

• The content of the curriculum as well as the standard, should not only be informed by standards as set out by the various regulating bodies like SAQA, but should also be informed by the stakeholders themselves, who are the ultimate recipients of products of these institutions. Therefore, stakeholders must organize themselves well in order to give input into the content of the curriculum.

• Though the focus of these institutions is different, where similar training is offered, standards should be equal for similar institutions. The Diploma/Degree qualification offered must be seen to be of similar quality, irrespective of the institution from which it was obtained.

• The institutions should consider developing courses that are not only informed by the immediate surroundings of such an institution, but that are also informed by trends in the production patterns of commodities in the Province. The curriculum should reflect the Agricultural image of the province.

• Given a high student/lecturer ration at an institution such as University of North West, alternative and cost effective methods should be explored, such as e-learning. In terms of practical work, collaboration between the three institutions can be struck where for example Potch College, because of its location and infrastructural development, can offer practical training to some students of University of North West, thus reducing the workload per lecturer at that institution. The standards cannot be compromised due the fact that Potch college staff is well qualified and experienced as well, in particular to teaching students who are to work in situations requiring hands on practical skills.

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INVOLVEMENT OF FORMAL INSTITUTIONS IN INFORMAL AND NON-FORMAL TRAINING

• Currently, the institutions that have some capacity (in terms of available lecturer time) to render training to farmers are Taung College and Potch College. Potch College has in particular indicated that it cannot offer courses on site, but can reach out to farmers and communities. University of North West cannot fulfill this role well because of the work load of lecturing staff. Due to the spatial distribution of these centers, it is also true that not many farmers can utilize the facilities of these institutions adequately, especially the growing number of emerging farmers. However, these institutions can play a big role in terms development of courses for farmers in terms of the standards set out by PAETA, and facilitate accreditation.

• The new-entrant (emerging commercial) and commercial farmers (both Africans and White), should be able to reach these institutions as they are few in number and somehow independent and therefore these institutions should consider playing an important role in the development of these farmer groups. Already these farmers are at an intermediate to advanced level in terms of their knowledge of production practices and would not have much difficulty adjusting to the style and complexity of the courses designed by these institutions. Likewise, lecturing staff would not require major adjustments to suit the level of understanding and needs of these farmers.

• In terms of addressing the in-service training needs of staff in all institutions, staff of these institutions should play a meaningful role in terms of course development, facilitation of accreditation, as well as training of trainers who will give training to other staff members and farmers. Such courses should have a credit value (learnerships) and should lead to credit exemption (if given by these institutions themselves) in respect of some of the courses offered by these formal institutions, or should lead to a formal qualification. However, due to the fact that their primary role is student training, staff in-service training should be left primarily to the devise of scientist staff in Government departments, research institutes and the NGO’s, but where time and resources permit, they should play an active role in terms of providing refresher courses for technicians.

• These institutions should play a big role in terms of quality control on courses given to staff and farmers, by training staff members to do quality control. This does not in any way replaces what is the responsibility of PAETA. These people would do quality control on courses designed by these institutions and presented by staff members of all farmer development institutions, especially where such courses would lead to a formal qualification, or credit exemption.

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• The assumption of additional responsibilities by these institutions would obviously require more and additional resources, especially in terms of teaching staff and operational costs.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Human resource development is an integral part of any institution. In

formal institutions, which are supposed to lead the way in terms of knowledge generation, structured training programs such as courses are not highly recommended. It is expected of lecturing staff to do a lot of self development in a form of further reading, research and publication, as well as attending conferences and workshop where knowledge exchange takes place. Each member of the academic staff should be expected to meet certain minimum requirements for the work that he/she does in terms of knowledge generation as defined above and each institution and individual should promote the concept of peer review by local and internationals. In this manner the qualify of teaching and knowledge generation will be maintained.

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT All institutions that offer tertiary training in Agriculture must be well

resourced, otherwise the quality of training will be compromised. Of the three institutions, the one that seems to be compromised with respect to infrastructural requirements is the University of North West. This has to be addressed if qualify teaching is to be expected from this institution. Alternatives can be looked at (as mentioned earlier) such as collaboration of institutions such as Potch College and the University of North West as far as practical facilities is concerned, with a possibility of introducing electronic learning as well to support this proposal.

ACCESS AND EQUITY These institutions are still mainly perceived according to racial groupings,

though this is changing at Potch College, which has started to attract African students. A lot of marketing of these institutions as non-racial institutions has to be done, in order to change perceptions regarding this matter. Not only is marketing of the institutions as non-racial sufficient, but impediments (such as language) to new students (who were not historically a part of these institutions) should be removed in order to make these institutions truly accessible to all South Africans.

These institutions have to work hard in order to change the gender ratios

to acceptable limits, given the high number of women farmers in the province.

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Access should also be promoted by actively supporting deserving high school learners who achieve good grades in their matric year, especially with emphasis on science subjects. This calls for closer collaboration between these institutions and the high schools, so as to promote agriculture as a science, as well as to make learners aware of admission requirements so that those who genuinely want to follow agriculture, can prepare themselves well.

These institutions should have or develop good pre-entry tests (in

collaboration with prospective employers or beneficiaries of products of the institutions) and select people who have the aptitude and make for the profession of agriculture. In this manner people who join the profession as a last resort, can be separated from people who have genuine love and interest and who can make an impact.

The other important recommendation is where prospective students are

attached for six months to experienced farmer mentors, who prepares them during this period in terms of farming operations. After completion of this initial six months, the students are then accepted for formal training and during their experiential training, they go back to this mentor for practical skills training in farming. In this manner, students would upon graduating, have a much better understanding of the theoretical and practical demands of agriculture and farming in general.

6.1.2 Agriculture High schools Formal training In terms of the education aspects, the most severe constraints seem to be

experienced at the academic high schools. The subject combination at these schools has to be looked at as a matter of urgency, so as to recognize agriculture as a science and not pair it with subjects like biblical studies and history. The subject combination should be informed mainly by the requirements for admission as well as prerequisite knowledge required at first year level for University and College qualification.

Practical training is not being done at these schools and this should be

addressed by the authorities. To address it would obviously mean that resources must be made available to upgrade teacher knowledge and skills, as well as provide equipment and infrastructure. Infrastructure for practicals refers to those facilities that are agriculture specific, and to those that are cutting across science subjects, such as a laboratory.

The other alternative to addressing (in the short-term) problems of lack of

practicals at academic high schools, is to engage the Department of Agriculture in terms of utilizing their advantage of decentralized offices. Extension officers and other government officials could, in an organized manner, assist high school teachers in terms of offering practical training to learners.

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The Department of Agriculture, through its youth program, is already well positioned to provide leadership in this aspect. This type of support could be rendered by either: 1) utilizing the already existent Farmer Support Units (FSU), which is a cheaper option but would mean that learners have to leave the school premises, or 2) developing projects within the school premises, which would require some funding and might take some time to achieve, but is more suitable to the learners as the facilities would be within the school premises.

Experienced farmers could also be roped in to avail their experience and resources in the short term (incentives to be made available to entice them to sacrifice their time, experience and resources), by providing practical training to the learners. Parents in general, who are farmers, should also be encouraged to fill this void by exposing their kids who do agriculture at high schools, to practical farming skills. This could be done through activity engaging kids in their farming operations, or sponsoring small backyard projects at home, where these kids could experiment with farming on a small scale. In terms of teaching methods, learners at academic high schools hinted that they would be happy if teachers could vary the methods of teaching and not just rely on theoretical content as detailed in the text books. Teachers are well qualified in teaching methods, but the obvious constraint in terms of varying teaching methods as far as agriculture is concerned, is a lack of depth in terms of qualifications and experience, as well as the necessary supporting infrastructure and equipment. These have to be addressed simultaneously so that learners can start seeing agriculture as an interesting subject it is. Other methods which need to be explored involve the use of experts (as is currently done for biology, physics and maths by Professor William Smith) on television, or use could be made of e-learning where experts would prepare explanatory notes of all the topics, to be accessed by learners through the internet. This would of course mean that television and computers (plus internet) would have to be made available. Learners of agric high schools have expressed a request for the authorities to consider splitting the examination for agriculture subjects into two papers, as this is too much work to be learned at a time and to give sufficient time between papers. Teachers at these schools have suggested a review of the text books and other learning materials currently used to teach agriculture at high schools. This would have to be taken up by the subject advisory services of the department of education.

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6.1.3 Non-formal training In terms of informal and non-formal training, only the Agriculture high

schools (Wagpos High in Brits, P.H. Moeketsi in Taung and Sannieshof High) are relatively well positioned in terms of infrastructure, to be used as alternative centres for farmer training. Those Agricultural high schools not well developed (Ventersdorp High and Krommelenboog Combined school in Christiana) in terms of farming infrastructure, should be developed to an extent of not only fulfilling their primary responsibilities of educating learners, but as farmer training centers as well. Such facilities could be used by both the government officials as well as officials from NGO’s.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT In terms of human resource development, it is clear that the biggest

problems are experienced in the academic high schools, where most teachers are not qualified in agriculture. In the first instance, the department of education should adopt a policy (if the academic high schools are to be retained as providers of agriculture science teaching) whereby new teachers of agriculture need to possess an agricultural qualification, in addition to a teacher qualification. For those teachers who are already employed and are under qualified, regular and structured in-service training must be developed and presented, driven mainly by the department of education subject advisory services. In order to fulfill this role well, manpower in terms of well qualified subject advisors in agriculture needs to be made available.

The other alternative that could be looked at would involve the phasing out

of agriculture science teaching at all the academic high schools, over a period of five years. Agriculture science would then be taught strictly at pure agriculture high schools. This would involve improving the facilities of the existing agriculture high schools, as well as building additional schools of this nature.

Teachers qualified in agriculture and who teach in academic high schools

would then be absorbed in the new and existing agriculture high schools, and those not currently qualified in agriculture, would get a five year period within which they can obtain qualification in agriculture. If they fail to obtain a suitable agriculture qualification, they can be reconverted into teaching subjects they are qualified to teach. The advantage of agriculture high schools is that learners are well prepared for tertiary education and those who decide to go into farming after completing their matric year, they would have a smooth entry as they would have been prepared in the basics of farming.

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This proposal would require massive investment, but government in collaboration with the private sector, can manage to achieve this. Such high schools would have to be located strategically in the province and without being prescriptive, if one such a high school were to be built around Molopo area, the current Kgora resource center of the Department of Agriculture should be looked at as a possible place.

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT All high schools offering Agriculture should be well served with a minimum

of infrastructure and equipment, that can support teaching and learning. The minimum infrastructure should be set according to the focus of the school, i.e., whether the school is a pure agriculture high school or an academic high school. It should be noted that each school offering agriculture, irrespective of focus, should have a well developed laboratory which is well equipped to support teaching of any science subject and that agriculture specific infrastructure and equipment need to be made available.

Other support equipment such as video equipment, computer and internet

facilities, are not a luxury in this modern age of technological development, but a necessity. It is acknowledged that there could be budgetary constraints as far as providing all the necessary infrastructure. This could be addressed indirectly by hooking onto the concept of community information centers, which are multi faceted centers that cannot only address the needs of the learners, but of the entire community.

In terms of text books and other consumables, it should, however, be

pointed out that learners doing agriculture cannot afford to be without text books, as they cannot study at their own time and will have to always depend on the teacher for information and that schools should not at any time be allowed to be short of consumable items. Parents and government should play a supportive role in this respect to ensure that the needs of learners are addressed.

ACCESS AND EQUITY In terms of access and equity to the schools, it should be acknowledged

that the province is rural based, but that agriculture plays a major role in the livelihoods of many people, mostly rural people. The bulk of the schools the agriculture academic schools are situated in rural areas and this underlies the importance of agriculture in these areas.

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The concept of promoting access and equity has to be looked at in terms of the following:

• Promoting agriculture in these rural areas through active means

such as policy support for rural and emerging farmers in order to develop farmer role models in these areas, thus changing the image of agriculture amongst the youth, career exhibitions and formal career exhibitions.

• Providing the necessary infrastructure, equipment and other learning materials, that will not only support agriculture education and learning at these schools, but will ensure that agriculture as a subject is taken actively from primary school levels.

• Providing support to deserving learners in a form of bursaries, to encourage them to further their studies in agriculture.

• Making the Agriculture high schools much more accessible to learners from all backgrounds, especially the previously disadvantaged.

• Providing the best qualified teachers in all schools, who will prepare learners well for tertiary training, so that they should not end up being drop outs or misfits just because of the education they received. It is a fact that some teachers avoid difficult topics in the matric syllabus, or advise learners to take agriculture at standard grade level, just because these teachers are not well trained.

6.1.4 Farmer training In terms of farmer training, the following recommendations are made:

• Emerging farmers should be trained in Production techniques of common enterprises,as well as in Business/Financial management (enterpreneural skills). The level of intensity of each course would depend on the individual farmer and where possible, farmers of the same level in terms of skill and knowledge should be identified and trained together.

• The predominant language of the target trainees/farmers should be used in terms of preparing course and other reading material.

• Reading material on a variety of topics, with visual demonstrations, should be developed and disseminated for use by farmers as reference material.

• Training should as far as possible, be taken to the farmers. • Regular courses should be aligned to seasonal activities (e.g.

cropping season). Courses should be given to farmers in advance in order to give them prior skills and knowledge pertaining to activities that are about to happen in a production season e.g. before the planting season starts, courses on soil preparation, calibration of planters, etc.

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• All training courses given to farmers should be accredited in terms of standards set out by PAETA. Such training should have a certain credit value and should lead to a recognized qualification of some sort. This would be of assistance to technicians in terms of their extension programs and would serve those trainees who have intensions of entering the job market (e.g. as farm managers), as well as those farmers who would have interest in furthering their studies at formal Further Education Institutions.

• A method of determining and recognizing prior learning for farmers should be developed. It would be easy if such a system were in place, for farmers to be given training that suits their level of understanding.

• All training targeting farmers should be coupled with ABET training so as to give farmers enough preparation in the prerequisite knowledge and skills. An example has been given in chapter five, where numeracy skills would perhaps be required before farmers could be taught calibration of farm equipment.

• Information going out to farmers should be standardized to ensure that quality is maintained. This could be done by developing job aids (such as manuals), for all agricultural development workers.

• The research, extension, farmer linkage (especially as it pertains farm based and applied research), has to be strengthened. Research in itself has a training component which could be explored in terms of staff and farmer training. For this linkage to be effective, all role players have to be trained so as to understand what research is, what this type of research entails, how to conduct it, how to use this research as a tool for training and demonstration and how each role player can contribute to the success of this linkage.

• Farmer to farmer knowledge transfer has to be acknowledged and incentivised, as many farmers have expertise in their own farming practices which could be transferred to other developing farmers.

• A forum on farmer training, comprised of all stakeholders involved in the training of farmers, has to formed at provincial and regional level. The purpose of this forum would mainly be self regulatory and is not meant to replace statutory bodies such as PAETA. The forum would give continuous direction on overall farmer training imperatives, monitor the rate and extent of farmer training, as well as the quality standards of service delivery in terms of farmer training by all stakeholders.

• Though Government should take the primary responsibility in terms of funding farmer training, farmers should consider creating their own fund for farmer training, farmers should consider creating their own fund for farmer training, which they can use to address short term training needs and to make use of training opportunities as they present themselves. This is motivated by the fact that due to

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lack of funds at times from the side of government, as well as bureaucratic delays, farmers are sometimes not in a position to do/achieve the things they want for their own development.

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

The province has got manpower in the field of agriculture, which just needs improvement to cope with the demands of modern agriculture. The following improvements are suggested.

• Regional scientists and scientists based at the research stations

need to play a more meaningful role in terms of training of technicians. Though they have a good background in the technical disciplines, they would have to receive training in methods of training or instruction.

• Scientist staff directly supporting extension staff, should be encouraged to do regular publications (mostly popular publications) and take leadership as far as scientific and technical subject matter is concerned.

• Though technicians and their managers have not identified technical training as a priority, according to the experience of the researchers, this should be considered a priority simply because of programs such as LRAD. There is also a need to service the current commercial farmers and this calls for preparedness on the side of all training service providers as these farmers are much more advanced in terms of their farming operations. The same applies to training in agricultural extension for managers and technicians from research and extension. Such courses would have much more relevance if presented at or near the work places and which draws from the experiences of learners and informed by real life problems or cases.

• All technicians giving courses to farmers should be trained in how to make preparations for running a course (the logistics thereof, as it has been recommended that formal institutions and scientists take care of course development and accreditation). They should also be trained in communication and presentation skills.

• The concept of focusing should be explored and developed further and extension officers should be encouraged to focus on the technical disciplines they are well developed in. This would be beneficial in terms of career development as well as building expertise. The Extension development agents would have to remain decentralized at village and ward level so as to be able to identify and deal with all farmers challenges requiring training.

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• In terms of management courses as identified by the managers and technicians, it should be noted that currently three institutions are well qualified to bridge this gap. They are 1) University of Potch Business school, University of North West Business school and South African Management Development Institute (SAMDI) of the Department of Public service and administration. The advantage with SAMDI is that such courses can be offered at no cost to government officials. There is a need to develop courses with a particular focus on management within the context of agricultural development.

• The Department of Agriculture should consider having a middle manager at each region specifically dedicated to running and giving guidance to farmer training, extension and agriculture technical staff development. In this manner such more focus and impact will be achieved in terms of farmer development.

• The Department of Agriculture should conduct a thorough audit of its’ technical manpower, with a view of determining current capacity. On the basis of this, manpower development plans should be developed. Training needs of each individual officer (based on well researched information as well as personnel evaluation process), should be developed on an on-going basis.

• Further education by technicians and managers in the field of agriculture should be encouraged. Where such further education involves research on real life farmer problems and constraints, incentives and other support should be given. In this manner people would not study just to accumulate degrees, but to add value in terms of knowledge generation.

• All possible methods that encourage the culture of reading and communication of technical knowledge to peers, should be encouraged amongst all technicians. This would not only build the confidence of staff to communicate ideas, but builds up their technical acumen.

INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT The North West Province has a number of institutions in the research,

extension and NGO sector, that have to be enhances in order to fulfill a better role. The following recommendations are made: • All farmer development units (FSU’S) should be developed into

units for farmer training and demonstration. They can also easily be converted into multi purpose centers to serve a number of needs for the community. The same applies to the Kgora resource center in Ramatlabama, which has potential to serve as a farmer training center.

• Mobile training units (complete units or separate units) should be explored as alternatives to having fixed centers which farmers have to visit if they need training.

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• NGO’s should be funded and supported much better than is currently the situation, as they complement the work done by government extension services.

• Infrastructure and better facilities should be made available for research centers such as ARC-IIC and TSS, as well as University of North West. This should be couples with additional funding to these and other institutions, to help them to improve facilities and acquire better qualified staff.

• Institutions must begin to collaborate with a view of sharing resources and scarce resources in order to obtain maximum benefit. An example can be given of the NGO’s and the Extension services, where NGO’s would use their mobile facilities to offer training to farmers and extension staff would do the after care service.

6.2 Summary and Conclusion In conclusion, it must be noted that improving agriculture education and

training would not require a single approach. A multifaceted approach spanning the short to the long term, would have desirable results. The province has basic resources to cover formal, informal and non-formal training and these needs to be improved and harnessed for maximal impact. Recommendations have resource implications, which have to be made available for impact to be made.

Any recommendation adopted will have to be followed up and driven with

passion and vigour. All stakeholders involved in farmer training must realize that on their own they will not achieve grate results and would possibly result in duplication and wastage of scarce resources, but that collectively, the will have much more impact and contribute meaningfully to the national interest of a better life for all.

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7. REFERENCES 1. Coombs, P.H. & Manzoor, A., 1978. Attacking rural poverty: how non-

formal education can help. The John Hopkins university press. 2. Van Dyk, P.S., Nel, P.S. & Loedolff, P. v.Z., 1992. Training management

a multidisciplinary approach to human resources development in Southern Africa. Thomson publishing.

3. 2002. North West Barometer. Provincial Policy and Planning Co-

rodination, North West Provincial Government. 4. 2002. Economic Development and Industrial Plan for NW Province.

NWPG, Mafeking. 5. Lehohla, P. 2001. The People of South Africa Population Census, 1996. 6. 1997. RSA Statistics in Brief. Statistics SA, Pretoria.

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ANNEXURES

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ANNEXURE 5 GENERIC SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED (ACCORDING TO THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RESEARCHERS) BY FARMERS AND EXTENSION STAFF FOR EFFECTIVE FARMING Beef Cattle Management of the Herd (Before mating, during mating, during pregnancy,

during calving, during weaning). Stock-flow planning. Feeding (Cultivated pastures, designing feeding programs, feeding

concentrates, complete rations, self-mixing of rations) Disease Identification and control (Designing vaccination programs, control

of external parasites, control of internal parasites) Record keeping Financial management Breeding practices (Breed selections, selection of bulls, selection of heifers,

visual appraisal) Marketing information and management Calculation of efficiency parameters

Sheep and Goats Breeding practices (Selection of rams, selection of ewes, visual appraisal) Feeding (Before mating season, during pregnancy, during mating and

weaning, managing a small feedlot) Fodder production (Cultivation of planted pastures, designing fodder flow) Disease and Pest control (Identifying diseases, Control of diseases,

Designing vaccination programs, control of internal and external parasites) Financial management Marketing information and management Veld management (Identifying grass species, determining carrying capacity,

determining browsing capacity) Calculation of efficiency parameters

Poultry (Broilers and Layers) Management of a Layer unit (Feed management, Housing density

determination, Temperature, light and ventilation control, Handling of waste products, record keeping. Disease identification and control, Marketing information and management, calculation of efficiency parameters)

Management of a Broiler unit (Determining housing densities, Feed program and management, Temperature, light and ventilation control, Litter management and handling, record keeping, Financial management, Disease identification and control, Marketing information and management, Calculation of efficiency parameters)

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Pig Production

General management (Management of piglets form birth to weaning, management of sows during pregnancy, farrowing and lactation, management of growing pigs form weaning to slaughter, management of the breeding boar

Record keeping Feeding (Feeding of piglets, Feeding of pregnant and lactating sows,

Feeding of porkers and baconers, Self-mixing of rations) Housing requirements (Pregnant, lactating, mating sows) Disease Identification and control Equipment use for successful pig farming Marketing information and management Calculation of efficiency parameters

Crop Production

Cultivar choice Tillage practices Maintenance of farm machinery Fertilization Plant spacing Crop/Yield estimates Disease identification and control Pest identification and control Weed identification and control Irrigation planning and management Harvesting (timing, technology and storage) Marketing information and management Calculation of efficiency parameters

Vegetable Production Cultivar choce Tillage practices Maintenance of farm machinery Fertilization Plant spacing Crop/Yield estimates Disease identification and control Pest identification and control Weed identification and control Irrigation planning and management Harvesting (timing, technology and storage)

Marketing information and management

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QUESTIONNAIRES

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QUESTIONNAIRE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING AT RESEARCH INSTITUTES

This questionnaire is to be completed by the managers and agricultural technical staff (those who are involved in agricultural related activities) of research institutions. The respondents are kindly requested to complete this questionnaire which will contribute to the transformation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. The information gathered will be used in formulating a National Strategy for Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. Your contribution is very valuable for the success of this important study. A. ABOUT YOURSELF 1. What is your position/rank? Manager Supervisor Other (specify) ________________________________________ 2. Gender (tick the appropriate box) Male Female 3. Race (tick where appropriate) White Black Coloured Indian Other (specify) ____________________________________

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4. Age (tick where appropriate) Under 20 21 – 30 31 – 40 41 – 50 51 – 60 60 + 5. What is your highest qualification? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ B. ABOUT THE INSTITUTION 6. What is the name of your institution? ________________________________________ 7. What services does your institution render? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 8. If one of your services is training, are your courses accredited and if

yes, by which institute? Yes No ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

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9. What kind of training have you done in the past 12 months, and who received the training?

Training Courses given Training recipient

10. Who are your target clients? __________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ 11. Who is funding your institute or your research/training programs? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 12. What research projects have you been involved with in the past 12

months and who are the beneficiaries of the research project?

Research project Research beneficiaries 13. Are there any stakeholders involved in the formulation/design of

your research projects. Yes. No. If yes, please list them below and indicate how each one is involved. ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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14. From which institutions of higher learning do you prefer to employ Researchers and Technicians? N.B. Questions 14 – 17 should be answered by supervisors and managers only.

Research staff Technicians Universities

Technikons

Other (specify) _______________ ________________ 15. Please give reasons for your preferences as indicated above ___________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. What training programs does your institution have for your

technical/research staff? ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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17. Who or what institution(s) usually offers such training? ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. What skills/training do you currently require in order to improve your

job performance? ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. What problems are experienced by you or your institution that affect

your performance? ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

20. What challenges do you think are facing South African agriculture in

general, currently? ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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21. Could you please offer suggestions as to how Agricultural Education

and training in formal and informal institutions (including your institution) could be improved to: produce graduates or trainees who can address the above-mentioned challenges to increase Agricultural production in the country and to make South African Agriculture to compete at a Global level.

___________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and input!

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QUESTIONNAIRE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND

TRAINING AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING This questionnaire is to be completed by final year students of the Agriculture Faculty and Agricultural Colleges. The respondents are kindly requested to complete this questionnaire which will contribute to the transformation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. The information gathered will be used in formulating a National Strategy for Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. Your contribution is very valuable for the success of this important study. 1. Your institution. 1.1 Name of institution: ___________________________________________ 2. Personal information 2.1 Age

11-14 15-20 21-25 26-30 30+

2.2 Gender Male/Female 2.3 Population group _____________________________________________ 2.4 Are you a South African? (circle) Yes / No If no, from which country do you come? ___________________________ 3. Educational background 3.1 What type of high school did you attend? (circle one) Agricultural high school Academic high school

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3.2 What science subjects did you study? Agricultural science Biology Business economics Accounting Geography Physical science 3.3 Did you have farming experience when you applied for this course? Yes / No 3.4 If yes, describe the type of work you were engaged in. Type of work ________________________________________________ For how long ________________________________________________ Grew up on a farm / rural area __________________________________ Grew up in an urban area ______________________________________ 4. Present studies 4.1 For what qualification are you studying (circle one)? Certificate Diploma Bachelor’s Degree Higher Degree 4.2 What is your specialization? ___________________________________________________________ 4.3 What motivated you to choose this option? ___________________________________________________________ 4.4 Do you do practical classes (circle one)? Yes / No 4.5 If no, explain: ___________________________________________________________ 4.6 If yes, list the practicals you attended this year and how long they were

Practical subjects Length of each class in hours

Number of practicals/year

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4.7 In what non-agricultural activities do you participate? ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 4.8 To what extent does the training you have received so far meet your

personal objectives (explain)?

Not at all To some extent To a large extent 4.9 How satisfied are you with the following (1 = poor, 2 = unsatisfactory, 3 =

satisfactory, 4 = good) (circle one for each aspect) Relevance of the training 1 2 3 4 Quality of practical classes 1 2 3 4 Teaching methods 1 2 3 4 Teaching materials 1 2 3 4 Quality of accommodation 1 2 3 4 Quality of teaching staff 1 2 3 4 4.10 Briefly suggest how any of the aspects in question 4.9 could be improved Relevance __________________________________________________ Practicals ___________________________________________________ Teaching methods ____________________________________________ Teaching materials ___________________________________________ 4.11 What other topics which are not in your present training curriculum do you

think should be included to broaden your future prospects? List: 1. ____________________________ 2. ____________________________ 3. ____________________________ 5. Medium of instruction 5.1 What is the medium of instruction in the institution? __________________ 5.2 In what language would you prefer your learning material to be: ________

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5.3 Does the medium of instruction have any impact on your performance in class? (little impact = 1, some impact = 2, serious impact = 3, very serious impact = 4) (circle):

1 2 3 4 5.4 If your answer to question was 2, 3 or 4, what steps should the institution

take to help you? ___________________________________________________________ 6. Job prospects 6.1 What kind of job are you most likely to get when you have finished your

training? (circle one) On a farm Agricultural industry Government Self employment Research institution Agri-business Other (specify) _________________________ 6.2 As a final year student, do you have any promises for a job next year? Yes / No If yes, what sort of job? ________________________________________ 6.3 Do you think that by the end of this year you will be competent to take up

a job? (circle) Yes / No 6.4 If no, what kind of training do you think you will need to help you? Explain. ___________________________________________________________ 7. Your thoughts about agricultural education and training (AET) in

South Africa? 7.1 What do you think are the main challenges to AET? 1. _____________________________________________________ 2. _____________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________

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7.2 What is your vision for the future of your institution? ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ 7.3 In not more than 100 words, kindly discuss how you would, given chance,

improve the quality of agricultural education and training in South Africa, such that it competes well in the global world.

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much for your participation in this valuable study.

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QUESTIONNAIRE ON AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLS OFFERING AGRICULTURE AS A SUBJECT

This questionnaire is to be completed by Grade 12 and 10 learners at Agricultural High Schools. The respondents are kindly requested to complete this questionnaire which will contribute to the transformation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. The information gathered will be used in formulating a National Strategy for Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. Your contribution is very valuable for the success of this important study. 1. Your School 1.1 Name of the school ___________________________________________ 1.2 What type of school is it? (Mark with X)

Agricultural School School offering agriculture as a subject

2. Personal information 2.1 Age

11-14 15-20 21-25 26-30 30+

2.2 Gender

Male Female

2.3 Population group _____________________________________________ 2.4 Are you a South African? (circle) Yes / No If no, from which country do you come? __________________________

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2.5 Where do you live, that is, your home? (Mark with x)

Town Rural Village

Farm 3. Schooling background 3.1 From what standard did you join the Agricultural High School or do

agriculture as a subject? ___________________________________________________________ 3.2 What subjects are you currently taking? ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ 3.3 Why did you choose to attend the Agricultural High School ___________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.4 What studies or degree course you want to follow at University? ___________________________________________________________

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4. Perception on subjects content 4.1 How do you think the subjects taken will assist you in further studies ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4.2 Do you do practical classes? (circle one) Yes / No 4.3 If yes, list the practicals you attended this year and how long they were

Practical subjects Length of each class in hours

Number of practicals/year

4.4 In what non-agricultural activities do you participate? ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 4.5 To what extent does the training you have received so far meet your

personal objectives (explain)?

Not at all To some extent To a large extent 4.6 How satisfied are you with the following (1 = poor, 2 = unsatisfactory, 3 =

satisfactory, 4 = good) (circle one for each aspect) Relevant of the training 1 2 3 4 Quality of practical classes 1 2 3 4 Teaching methods 1 2 3 4 Teaching materials 1 2 3 4 Quality of accommodation 1 2 3 4 Quality of teaching staff 1 2 3 4

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4.7 Briefly suggest how any of the aspects in question 4.6 could be improved Relevance _______________________________________________ Practicals _______________________________________________ Teaching methods _________________________________________ Teaching materials _________________________________________ 4.8 What other topics which are not in your present training curriculum do you

think should be included to broaden your future prospects? List: 1. __________________________ 2. __________________________ 3. __________________________ 5. Medium of instruction 5.1 What is the medium of instruction in the institution? _________________ 5.2 In what language would you prefer your learning material to be? ________ 5.3 Does the medium of instruction have any impact on your performance in

class? (little impact = 1, some impact = 2, serious impact = 3, very serious impact = 4) (circle)?

1 2 3 4 5.4 How do you rate the competence of your teacher (in agriculture)?

Poor Fair

Good 5.5 In not more than 100 words, kindly discuss how you would like

government, your teachers, parents and others do to improve the agriculture teaching or education?

___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much for your participation in this valuable study.

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QUESTIONNAIRE FOR MANAGEMENT OF FORMAL AET INSTITUTIONS 1. Name of institution ____________________ 2. Post held by you ____________________ 3. Indicate the percentage of your agricultural students originating from

the following areas: -City -Rural areas -Other – specify 4. Indicate where your students eventual most absorbed in terms of

employment. -Farm owner -Farm managers -Extensionists -Researchers -Lecturers -Agricultural industries -Non agricultural workers -Other – specify 5. Total number of your staff members

Academic Technical Assistant General Worker Administrative Staff

6. What is the annual number of students that enrolled and qualify in the following? -Horticulture, viticulture, pomology -Animal husbandry -Agricultural management and economics -Other

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7. In which field are they enrolled

Crop Horticulture Animal Pasture

-2- 8. Which institutions (External) does your institution have formal

linkage with? ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ 9. What bodies set standard for your curriculum for quality control? State them. ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ 10. How often is your curriculum reviewed? (a) Every six months (b) Every 12 months (c) Every 2 years (d) Every 5 years (e) Others 11. How do you ensure that student get industry related experience during

their studies? ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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12. What perception about the quality of facilities of your institution? Evaluate them according to this scale 1 = Adequacy, 2 = Condition,

3 = Relevance

Facility

Adequacy Condition Relevance

Laboratory Library Internet Access Livestock Practical Crop Practical Audio visual Others

13. Indicate five qualities you will like your student to have in terms of

job market. (a) ____________________ (b) ____________________ (c) ____________________ (d) ____________________ (e) ____________________ 14. Does your institutions have any form of support to student? (a) Yes (b) No 15. If yes, in what form? (a) Bursaries (b) Loans (c) Others (specify) 16. Who maintains your facilities and infrastructure? (a) Institution (b) Government Department (c) Private Companies 17. What is the level of your satisfactory about the service above? (a) Satisfactory (b) Unsatisfactory (c) Very satisfactory

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18. What suggestion do you offer to improve Agricultural Education AND

Training in SA (Write in 100 words)? ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. How do you promote access to your school to all population

groups? ___________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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QUESTIONNAIRE ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING AT INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING

This questionnaire is to be completed by staff providing tuition to students of the Agriculture Faculty and Agricultural Colleges. The respondents are kindly requested to complete this questionnaire which will contribute to the transformation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. The information gathered will be used in formulating a National Strategy for Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. 1. Your institution 1.1 Name of the institution: ___________________________ 2. Background of the lecturer/teacher 2.1 State your gender (circle) M / F 2.2 Your population group ____________________ 2.3 Your age (circle)

20-35 36-50 50-65 65+

2.4 State the minimum qualification required for the post you are in ________ 2.5 State your highest qualification _________________________________ 2.6 Do you have professional (teaching qualifications) Yes/No. If yes, what?

____________________ 2.7 Work experience

Lecturing Experience (No. of years outside

institution)

Experience in this institution (No. of

years)

Other experience in the Agricultural

Sector

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2.8 What is your employment status in this job? (tick as appropriate) Part-time Full-time , permanent Contract work (e.g. 3 years contract) Other (please specify)

2. 9 Are you currently engaged in any further studies? (circle) Yes / No 2.10 If yes, what studies are you pursuing? ____________________________ 2.11 What motivates you to further your studies? ________________________

___________________________________________________________ 3. Your teaching responsibilities 3.1 Please complete the following table: No. Course taught

(e.g. BSc Ag) Subject (eg Crop Pro- tection)

No. of students

No hours per week Lectures Practicals

1 2 3 4 5 6

3.2 How do you perceive the intensity of your work load? (Very light = 1, Light

= 2, Moderate = 3, Heavy = 4) (circle one number for each aspect)

Aspect of work Rating Lecturing 1 2 3 4 Conducting practicals 1 2 3 4 Preparation of classes 1 2 3 4 Research activities 1 2 3 4 Administration 1 2 3 4 Self development 1 2 3 4 3.3 How frequently do you revise your training programmes? (tick) Annually/Once in two years/On receipt of new information or discoveries/ Other (specify) ______________________________________________

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3.4 With which of the following do you have professional linkages? (circle) 1. Lecturers in your institution 2. Lecturers in other institutions 3. Research stations 4. Agro-industries

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5. Agri-business 6. Extension services 7. Farmers 8. Other (state) __________________ 3.5 Who conducts practical classes in your subjects? (circle) Yourself Technician Yourself and technician Other (specify) ______________________________________________ 3.6 Evaluate the following training facilities under the headings given (1 = poor, 2 = unsatisfactory, 3 = satisfactory, 4 = good)

Facility Adequate Condition Relevance Laboratories Library Internet access Practical livestock facilities Practical crop facilities Other (state)

3.7

Training material and equipment

Adequate Condition Relevance

Books Audio-visual Laboratory materials Laboratory equipment Practical equipment Practical materials Other (state)

3.8 Who evaluated the standard and quality of your teaching (lecturers and

practicals)? (circle) Colleagues Students Outside lecturers Other (specify) _____________________________________ 3. 9 In what extra-curriculum activities do your students engage? (list)

Activity

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3.10 Are there any physically challenged students enrolled in your courses? Yes/No 3.11 If yes, are any special provisions made for them in lecture classes? Yes/No 3.12 What is the pass rate in % of your students in the subjects you offer?

Subjects 1999 2001 2002

3.13 What is the level of activity of students during practical sessions (circle)? Active and enthusiastic Active because of compulsion Passive Very passive 4. Research activities 4.1 Are you currently engaged in agricultural research? (circle) Yes/No 4.2 Is your research related to your teaching work? (circle) Yes/No 4.3 Who are the beneficiaries of your research? (tick) Students Farmers Breeders Nutritionists Commercial Company Other (specify) ______________________________________________ 4.4 Who funds your research? _____________________________________ 4.5 How many scientific papers have you published in the last five years? ___________________________________________________________ 4.6 If you are not engaged in research, is there a reason for this? __________ ___________________________________________________________

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5. Your thoughts about agricultural education and training (AET) in South Africa?

5.1 What do you think are the main challenges to AET? 1. ______________________________ 2. ______________________________ 3. ______________________________ 5.2 What is your vision for the future of your institution? ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 5.3 In not more than 100 words, kindly discuss how you would, given chance,

improve the qualify of agricultural education and training in South Africa, such that it competes well in the global world.

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thank you very much for your time and input!

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SURVEY DIRECTED TO MANAGEMENT IN THE DEPARTMENT, INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURAL RELATED ACTIVITIES IN THE NORTH WEST PROVINCE NB: The respondents are kindly requested to complete this questionnaire which will contribute to the transformation of Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. The information gathered will be used in formulating a National Strategy for Agricultural Education and Training in South Africa. Your contribution is very valuable for the success of this important study. RESPONDENTS: This questionnaire should be answered by Assistant Directors/Control to Chief Directors (includes those acting and permanently employed). 1. Region

___________________________________________________________ 2. State your division/directorate or sub-directorate _________________ 3. Gender

Male Female 4. Where are you stationed?

Head office Regional level District level Ward level Other (specify)

5. Your Rank/position

Chief Director Director Deputy Director Assistant Director/Control Other (specify)

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6. Qualification (highest)

Diploma B. Tech B. Agric Honors degree Masters degree B. Vet Science Other (specify)

6.1 Year of completion: _______________ 7. Area of specialization:

Agronomy Animal health Animal production Agricultural economics Horticulture Other (specify)

8. Institution where highest qualification was obtained:

Technicon Agricultural college Agricultural school Technical college University Other specify

9. How long have you been employed by the department:

0 - 1 year 1 - 5 years 5 – 10 years 10 – 15 years 15 – 20 years 20 Years and above

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10. What are your main functions/duties (job description) ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Who are your clients? (tick relevant blocks)

Household food security farmers Emerging farmers Women’s groups Household food security, emerging farmers and women groups Commercial farmers Other (specify)

12. Have you attended in-service training courses in the year 2001? If

yes, name the courses attended below. If none, go to question 12.1 ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12.1 When last did you attend the in-service training? (List the courses and

the year attended)

Courses attended Year Attended

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12.2 What has mainly prompted you to attend the above-mentioned courses. (tick relevant block)

Persuaded by my senior Persuaded by colleagues To enrich my knowledge To get a break from my work Other (specify)

12.3 How would you rate the relevance of the above mentioned courses to your

job:

Courses attended Good Satisfactory Poor 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

13. Are you currently furthering your studies?

Yes No 13.1 If yes, which course are you doing? ___________________________________________________________ 13.2 What are the major subjects? ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13.3 How is the course that you are doing related to the present job? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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14. In which areas of expertise do you feel you need training? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. Does your office have any formal partnerships with institutions

involved in Agricultural Education and Training?

Yes No 15.1 If yes, please indicate which one’s your are involved with and the role you

play?

Institution The role you play as a partner Universities Agricultural schools Research institutes (TSS) NOG’s Colleges of Agriculture ARC Other (specify)

15.2 How would you rate the above institutions in terms of their contribution to

farmer training in your area?

Universities Excellent Good Satisfactory PoorAgricultural schools Research institute (TSS) NGO’s Potch College of Agriculture Taung College of Agriculture University of North West ARC Other (specify)

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16. Please indicate the number of staff reporting directly to you as indicated below and where applicable use the following code(s): Director = 1, Deputy Director(s) = 2, Assistant Director/Control = 3, Agric. Scientist/Economist = 4, Agric. Technician/Veterinary Doctor = 5, Animal Health Technician = 6.

Position No.

of staff

Gender Disabled

Females Males

Minimum qualification for the post Females Males

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

17. Please state/indicate areas of skill shortages/deficiencies you have

identified in your technical/managerial staff (all levels under your supervision) (List them per occupational group i.e. Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Veterinary Doctors, Agric. Scien-tists/Economists, Agric Technicians and Animal Health Technicians)

___________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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18. As a manager, how do you identify training needs amongst your staff?

___________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. How effective do you think is/are the above-mentioned methodo-

logy/approaches that you use in identifying the training needs of your staff?

Methodology/Approcah Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 20. Do you have specific programmes (staff development programmes)

which are aimed at capacity building of your Technicial/Managerial staff? If Yes, please list them?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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21. If yes to 20 above, please indicate how are these programmes implemented?

___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

22. Where do you get funding for these programmes? ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ 23. In your experience, what are the costs/benefits of training technical

and managerial staff in your area? (What are the benefits in relation to the costs incurred training these people)?

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

24. How would you rate the above institutions in terms of their

contribution to training of technical staff in your area?

Universities Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor Agricultural schools Research institute (TSS) NGO’s Potch College of Agriculture Taung College of Agriculture University of North West ARC Other (specify)

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25. How effective (see items under educational content) do you think are

the academic institutions listed below in terms of producing students who meet the requirements of the job? 1 = Not effective, 2 = Effective, 3 = Highly effective

Occupational

group Taung

College of

Agfric

Potch Agric

College

University of North

West

Pretoria Technikon

Pretoria University

EducationalContent

Theory Practicals Research

Agric Technicians

Agric Extension


Animal Health Officers

Agric Extension


Agric Scientists

Agric Extension


Agric Economists

Agric Extension

Managers Managerial Skills

26. What do you think are the main challenges facing Agricultural

Education and Training in RSA: ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

27. In your view, how can Agricultural Education and Training in South

Africa be improved so as to: Produce graduates who can address the above-mentioned challenges. To increase Agricultural production in the country and, to make South African Agriculture to compete at a Global level.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and input!

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SURVEY DIRECTED TO GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS SPECIFICALLY TO PROVINCIAL DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 1. Name of the respondent (optional)

_______________________________ 2. Gender: Male Female 3. Where are you stationed? (mark with x where appropriate)

• Head Office • Regional level • District level • Ward level • Other (specify)

4. Rank (mark with x where appropriate)

• Agricultural Scientist • Agricultural Technician • Agricultural Economist • Extension/Animal Health Officer • Nature Conservator • Other

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5. Mention the highest qualification ___________________________________________________________ 5.1 Year of completion ___________________ 6. Area of specialization

• Horticulture

• Agronomy • Home Economics

• Nutrition

• Animal Production/Breeding

• Animal Health

• Agric. Economics

• Pasture

• Other (specify) e.g. General

7. Where did you obtain your highest qualification

• Technikon

• Agric College

• University

• Agric School

• Technical College

• Other (specify)

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8. How long have you been employed by the department 0- 1 years 1 - 5 years 5 – 10 years 10 – 15 years 15 – 20 years 20 years and above ___________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. Who are your clients?

• Household food security farmers

• Subsistence farmers

• Emerging farmers

• Women’s groups

• Commercial farmers

• Extension officers and farmers 11. Have you attended in-service training in the year 2001? If yes, name

the type of courses attended. Rate them also according to the following scale: 1 = Poor, 2 = Satisfactory, 3 = Good, 4 = Excellent (Consider specifically relevance to your job)

Year Course(s) Service Provider Rate

(1 or 2 or 3 or 4)

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12. Are you currently doing any further studies? 1. Yes 2. No 12.1 If yes, what course are you doing? ___________________________________________________________ 12.1.1 What are the major subjects? ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12.1.2 How is the course(s) you are doing related to present job? (Explain) ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. In which areas of expertise you feel you need training? ___________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. Have you ever been involved with any research activities in your

area? 1. Yes 2. No

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14.1 If yes, what was your role? (Explain) ___________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14.2 What type(s) of research were you involved in? ___________________________________________________________ 14.3 What institution(s) were involved? ___________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. Which institution(s) of Agric. Education and Training were you

involved with (one way or the other) in the past three years? (mark with an X)

1. Universities 2. Technikons 3. Agric schools 4. NGOs 5. Research Stations

6. Other (specify) 15.1 How would you rate the above institutions regarding training? 1. University Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor 2. Research stations Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor 3. NGOs Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor 4. Agric Schools Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor

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5. Other Excellent Good Satisfactory Poor 16. Rate the institutions you first obtained your first agricultural

degree/diploma in terms of the following: (Use the following scale: 1 = poor, 2 = Unsatisfactory, 3 = Satisfactory, 4 = good)

Name of institution Educational content Rating (1 or 2

or 3 or 4) 17. According to your own opinion, what are the challenges facing agriculture

currently? ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16.1 Do you think the current Agricultural Education and Training institutions

are equipped to produce students that can deal with the above mentioned challenges?

1. Yes 2. No. 16.2 If the answer is no above, what suggestions do you offer for to improve

the agricultural training in institutions? ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

IN NORTH-WEST PROVINCE - Department of Agriculture,...

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