Newsroom

By Nape Masemola

The high rate of youth unemployment, rural migration and the ageing farmer population prompted the Department of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRD) to develop the Young Producers and Entrepreneur Strategy (YPES).This strategy attempts to advance and develop the thrust of National Policy of 2020 by aiming to support youth-owned or youth-managed enterprises and other activities that will encourage the active participation of youth in the agricultural sector in order to bridge the gap between the ageing producers, reduce unemployment and  poverty.  In implementing the strategy, the department has since 2018/19 financial year sourced funds from the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme (CASP) funding framework for placement of unemployment graduates in farms /enterprises for entrepreneurial development. The first group of 100 unemployment graduates across the country was recruited and placed in various commercial and smallholder farms all over the province to undergo on the job training in areas of production, farm management, governance, business and entrepreneurship with experienced Mentors.   One of the beneficiaries of the programme is Mahlako Sekgale.

Born in the dusty Village of Mphanama Village in Makhuduthamaga Municipality in the Sekhukhune District, Mahlako like any other young person faced the prospect of unemployment after graduating from Tompi Seleka College of Agriculture in 2017 where she was studying Diploma in Animal Production.  In 2018 while doing the postgraduate in Agricultural Extension at Tshwane University of Technology she entered the unemployment graduate programme where she spent one year six months at Venda where she was gaining on farm experience. In Venda she was placed at five farms namely   Easy Farms Piggery, Bristow Bonsmara Stud, Mbhevhana Poultry, broiler and Hatchery, and Together Farm layers where she was undergoing training on Farm Management. Having learned and gained practical experience, Mahlako headed back home. Having already developed the love and passion for the sector, the 26-year-old started using her stipend to purchase Goats and Sheep and later Layers Chicken after realizing the need to be an entrepreneur and create job opportunities for other young people.   

When realising the need to also impart knowledge to farmers around Mahlako affectionally known as Queen Agri on Social Networks registered a Company Sekgale trading Enterprise trading as Queen Agri and enrolled with an Institution called Ndzalama Training   where she studied to be facilitator, Assessor and Moderator.  Mahlako then started facilitating trainings for farmers at a cost while using proceed to purchase land of 20 hectares from the local Traditional Authority where she plans to do a mixed farming there. The Department of Agriculture has already intervened by debushing the area and drilling 5 boreholes while also providing her with 120-layer mash.

Speaking to Temo News Me Sekgale highlighted that she benefited greatly from the Programme as she has acquired lots of knowledge, farming experience since she did Piggery, Beef, Hatchery, feed production and layer as well better decision making as an entrepreneur which is a path she is pursuing currently. Mahlako currently runs a backyard farm where she has 465 layers, 23 goats,15 sheep and 10 cattle and plans are underway to construct fence and layer houses at the newly purchased farms where she intends pursuing mixed farming and a Training Center. Currently she runs poultry training course. She can be reached on Instagram, Facebook page and twitter.