24 July 2023
By: Aretha Linden
A group of students from the University of Fort Hare’s (UFH) Faculty of Science & Agriculture wake up in the wee hours of the morning and head to the Fort Hare Dairy Farm to hone their skills.
This is one of the impressive initiatives of the UFH Agriculture Skills Development Club that was established in 2017 by former students of the faculty. The club seeks to improve the practical skills of undergraduates by forging partnerships with agricultural projects. This gives students hands-on experience and ensures the faculty produces well-rounded graduates.
The 210-hectare farm is about six kilometres from UFH’s Alice campus on land owned by the university. It has about 1,300 dairy cows.
During the recent mid-semester break, student volunteers were bottle-feeding newly born calves. “It is calving season and it is our favourite season because it keeps us busy,” said Sibulele Mapuza (24), from Butterworth, who was the faculty’s top student in 2022.
Sibulele, who has an agricultural management diploma from Nelson Mandela University, is in her second year of studies towards a Bachelor of Science in agriculture and animal science.
With her on the hilltop were Sinovuyo Luphuzi from Middledrift, Ntombifikile Bhutsha from Bizana, Lutho Mathiwane from Alice and Parsions Mellis from Lusikisiki.
They said they had woken at 4am to be on the farm before sunrise. Usually, they hitchhike from the campus to the farm, unless they get a lift from Prof Michael Aliber, head of the Agricultural Economics and Extension Department.
Typical mornings on the farm entail milking and feeding the herd, getting involved in pasture management, routine maintenance and irrigation, and sometimes driving the tractor.
One of their mentors is Mbuyisi Ntshanga, the farm’s outside junior manager, who is an alumnus of the faculty and one of the club’s founding members.
“In addition to the good theory behind the science of agriculture being taught at Fort Hare, we wanted students to milk the cows, plant the crops, drive tractors and work the land. I am delighted to see the club continues to fulfil this vision,” said Mbuyisi.
Sibulele, Sinovuyo and Ntombifikile aspire to be veterinarians. “We are highly passionate about the welfare of animals, hence we look forward to spending time on the Fort Hare Dairy Farm getting hands-on experience,” they said.
Parsions said volunteering on the farm has inspired him to become an agricultural economist. “In this declining economy, agriculture is still the source of everything. I volunteer on the farm because I strongly believe that before you trade, you need to understand how things work on the ground to be able to make lucrative decisions.”
Lutho, who fell in love with farming while herding his father’s livestock as a young boy, said: “When I was in high school, I knew that my future lay in agriculture. To realise this, I knew I had to come to Fort Hare to pursue my studies.” He aims to become a commercial farmer.