8 January 2024
A seed planted last June during a break-time conversation in the staff room at Burgersdorp High School quickly germinated and grew. By the end of September, science teacher Mimi Ferreira (27) reaped the rewards when the school successfully presented its first four-day Tin-Agri agriculture course.
“Now I can even teach my dad a thing or two,” exclaimed JZ van Heerden, a grade 8 pupil at Burgersdorp High after attending the course.
The school is in the heart of Eastern Cape farming country, but despite a need for agricultural subjects there are not enough staff or facilities to provide them.
During a break, the staff pondered whether short courses, similar to those offered by an agricultural college, could be a workable solution. Mimi immediately jumped into action and began planning.
“Many people were sceptical because requests for such things in the past had not materialised. However, I started researching local courses and organisations, companies, experts and others in Burgersdorp were eager to help,” she says.
“Then I heard a name here and there, took bold chances to call people, and asked for references if they couldn’t help themselves. In most cases I got a ‘yes’. We try to do everything as near as possible to keep our costs low. I look at where everyone can fit into the programme.”
Three months later, the first Tin-Agri agriculture course had modules on sheep handling, sheep and wool classification and livestock diseases.
On the first day, André Greyvenstein from BKB presented his intermediate sheep class course at Herman Henning’s shearing house at Kesieberg.
Herman said he and his father, Willie, were both pupils at the school and were immediately excited to be part of such an initiative. “The kids participated with enthusiasm and the girls did not hesitate to participate alongside the boys,” he said.
Dr Johan van Rooyen, a private veterinarian at Steynsburg Animal Hospital and former lecturer at the Agricultural Development Institute at Grootfontein, offered an intensive theoretical lecture on animal diseases.
In the next day’s practical session, Frans (Tjokkie) Marx brought a sheep carcass and Johan conducted post-mortem examinations of the diseases the course participants had learned about. Wandile Khave, a former Grootfontein student, was his assistant.
“The students asked many questions and learnt that farming has a scientific element, and that prevention is just as important as cure,” says Mimi.
Kobus Grobler of the NWKV offered theoretical and practical modules in sheep handling on the last day of the course. Mimi’s husband, Dean Ferreira of Sunnyslopes Farm, built temporary pens on the school grounds, while Gideon Hayward and Gernus Maritz provided sheep for the students to work with.
“The students received manuals and learnt how and where to use dosages and vaccines, as well as how to handle the sheep so that the wool is not damaged,” says Mimi.
Grade 9 pupil Gregory Gerber says he benefited greatly. “Agricultural courses can even help you develop skills you didn’t know you had,” he says.
The second course was offered in November, when 32 students learnt more about tractors, tools and basic mechanical inspection. Alfalfa cutting and baling also took place on a farm.
This was followed by a wool classification course by Juan Venter (NWKV), and the third day was divided between holistic grazing and a welding course by Roelf Bredenkamp, the husband of acting school principal Yolandi Bredenkamp.
The course concluded with a session on nutrition by the Molteno Farmers’ Association, which offers agricultural education to people in the district.
Resources
Mimi is convinced the community and farmers of Burgersdorp are their greatest resources. Although they could use the school’s classrooms, grounds, buses and multimedia facilities, the human resources, facilities and livestock of the farmers were crucial.
“When we can’t go to a place to show the learners, we just bring it to them on the school grounds,” she says.
Students in grades 8 to 11 can voluntarily participate in the courses. A total of 35 Afrikaans, English and Xhosa-speaking boys and girls attended the first course.
They had to pass theoretical and practical tests for each module and were rewarded with an attendance certificate. Local businesses or institutions have sponsored the courses so far.
Students pay only R50 per course. “We have expenses for transportation, refreshments and presentations and also try to get sponsors for individual students who couldn’t afford it, and so far it’s privately funded,” says Mimi.
Future planning
To prevent course participants from sacrificing their academic time, the courses are offered in the last week of the quarter, after exams.
The goal is to offer 20 courses within a four-year cycle on a rotating basis so that everyone can take all of them.
Two courses are on the calendar this year and plans include attending the Bonsmara Association’s annual Bonsmara course in Steynsburg, as well as the Sybokhaar Breeders’ Association’s course during shearing season.
“The school is also negotiating to purchase manuals, course materials, and tests. The new ideas that farm children take home can also benefit our farming community,” says Mimi.
