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Sowing seeds of change with love for the community

Inspired by her upbringing and her community’s reliance on agriculture, a determined young farmer from Thaba Nchu has turned her passion for farming into a lifelong mission – nurturing the land, one grain at a time.

“When you have passion for something you make it work.”

The 26-year-old Tshegofatso Choane is also an accountant and co-founder of the Agripreneur Farmer’s Institute in the Free State, an AgriSETA-accredited training provider.

Tshegofatso credits her uncle, a grain farmer from Tiger River, for sparking her passion for agriculture while she was still in high school. “When you have a passion for something you make it work,” she reflects. Staying true to this belief, she later founded a non-profit organisation during her university years dedicated to training and empowering youth in rural areas through agricultural development.

She explains that by working with the institute she has the opportunity to live out her passion for farming while imparting knowledge to aspiring young farmers, especially in rural areas, as the elders have retired over time.

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“I grew up in a village where agriculture was the bread and basket of the community. I have always had a passion for teaching and training, which is why I decided to integrate my passion for agriculture with education. There is no better way to develop a community than granting them access to knowledge,” says Tshegofatso.

When it comes to managing her time and resources, Tshegofatso highlights success needs to stem from determination despite challenges. “You simply have to make use of what you have,” she advises.

She encourages young female farmers to keep going because there are enough opportunities for everyone.

“We belong in this space, let us work together to ensure we make things easier for the next generation. To agri aspirants, there is no better way of knowing how to do something other than doing it, find mentors and go for training, we are here for you as a new generation of farmers.”

With hopes to develop and mentor the next generation, Tshegofatso says technological innovations in the sector will improve operations in rural areas that are already falling behind with current trends.

“Oh, technology you beautiful thing! Technology is there to make things easy for us and improve production. We need to improve tech knowledge and machinery in rural areas – drone use, new tractors, and planting systems, to name a few. We need to learn new ways of getting things done and growing food to grow and develop our rural economies,” she says.

Despite this, she emphasises the importance of evolving and learning about the industry to succeed, be it by finding ways to improve the management of your enterprise, managing your finances, or finding ways of using technology to curb the effects of climate change.

“We need a generation of young farmers who will be able to bring us investors, markets, and innovative ideas for rural economic development,” she says.

For her, there is no greater reward than seeing someone succeed, knowing well that she had a hand in it.

“The pie is big enough for us to share and enjoy together. Let us work together, let’s share [knowledge] and build each other – invest in knowledge, strive to improve things daily. Your Tuesday cannot be the same as your Monday, there is just something you are doing that is wrong. A slight change can make a difference,” she concludes.

Text:  Gypseenia Lion Photograph: Gypseenia Lion

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