Question NW1550 to the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

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23 May 2022 - NW1550

Profile picture: Montwedi, Mr Mk

Montwedi, Mr Mk to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Whether she intends to relook the curriculum offered by agricultural colleges which offer part time and/or short courses that are currently offered by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), as that will assist farmers to reduce the costs associated with travelling to the ARC in Pretoria?

Reply:

No. The programmes offered by the 11 Colleges of Agriculture are divided into two sub - programmes, namely Higher Education (HET) providing agricultural training from NQF level 5 to 7, and formal and non-formal training on NQF level 1 to 4 (except for Taung College of Agriculture and Potchefstroom College of Agriculture where farmer training is done at Kgora Training Centre). The NQF Level 1 to 4 programmes have emphasis on farmer training i.e. smallholder, subsistence and commercial farmers, and in most cases, they collaborate with Agricultural Research Council (ARC).

The Colleges of Agriculture (CoAs) through the Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDAs) have existing working relationship with the ARC, mostly though signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and some of the Colleges also host the ARC within their premises. The relationship allows the two parties to collaborate in offering short courses either through sharing of premises or expertise. Farmers only travel to ARC premises in instances where a specific or specialised infrastructure is needed for practical training.

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