A rural farming academy outside Polokwane is helping address South Africa’s shortage of agricultural skills while creating training, employment and income opportunities in its surrounding community. Its founder, Jerry Tjale, has been named Limpopo’s finalist in the 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
By Jasper Raats, senior journalist at African Farming and Landbouweekblad
Tjale will compete in the Emerging Business Entrepreneur of the Year category as well as for the overall title of South Africa’s Entrepreneur of the Year. The category in the annual Business Partners Limited competition recognises entrepreneurs who have been in business for between one and five years.
Bokamoso Farmers Academy is based on a 30 ha working farm at Ga-Matlala and trains up to 5 000 people a year in agriculture, business management and occupational qualifications.
Accredited training is offered on campus and online, with learners coming from seven of South Africa’s nine provinces. Established agricultural businesses such as ZZ2 and Indigo Fruit Farming also send employees to the academy for training.
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The farm’s commercial operations include pigs, piquanté peppers and cabbages. This allows students to gain daily practical experience while completing their qualifications.
They are taught regenerative farming methods such as composting and drip irrigation and gain practical knowledge on biogas digesters that are also used to heat water for the student residence.
Under Tjale’s leadership, enrolment has more than doubled and a 20-bed accommodation block had to be built on campus.
Demand for accommodation has also created an opportunity for the surrounding community. Local households accommodate students who cannot be housed on campus, giving these families an additional source of income.
The academy has also delivered a commodity-based mentorship programme in partnership with the Mpumalanga Department of Agricultural, Rural Development, Land & Environmental Affairs.
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A bursary programme is helping local students gain access to agricultural training. Seven bursaries were awarded this year, compared to four during the first intake. Two students from the current group have already been selected for a tutoring programme at the academy.
Tjale has created an institution that responds to a clear need in the agricultural sector, says Gugu Mjadu of Business Partners Limited. “Employers cannot find skilled people, and Tjale built the institution that supplies them, in a rural community, from a working farm,” she says.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October. Prizes include funding, mentorship, technical assistance and business exposure opportunities intended to support further growth.
Business Partners Limited established the Entrepreneur of the Year competition in 1988 to recognise successful entrepreneurs in South Africa’s small and medium enterprise sector. The competition is being held for the 38th time this year.
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