The Agricultural Development Agency (AGDA) recently made a presentation at Tompi Seleka College of Agriculture in Limpopo, just outside Marble Hall.
The purpose of the presentation was to share ideas on how to unlock opportunities for youth in agriculture as well as information on AGDA’s Graduate Agribusiness Incubation Programme.
AGDA aims to roll the programme out across agricultural and Technical, vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges.
Project Coordinator at AGDA Tshegofatso Makwela said at the heart of AGDA is a vision to catalyze transformative growth within the agricultural sector through its extensive member base and partner network, which aims to foster strategic partnerships and alignment through collaborative efforts across the agricultural value chain.
This collaborative approach not only enhances access to skills, finance and markets but also nurtures an ecosystem to support the growth and success of young agripreneurs.
Makwela says the organization is committed to empowering the youth and driving sustainable agricultural development initiatives that connect youth with markets and buyers, as well as by ensuring access to financial services through tailored financing mechanisms or partnerships with financial institutions and government.
AGDA welcomes passionate individuals who are to connect with them by registering their agricultural projects using the link https://forms.office.com/r/7mmJx7ru9w
She further said that AGDA is committed to aiding youth and agricultural graduates in seizing opportunities within the agricultural sector.
“This commitment is manifested through initiatives that connect youth with markets, and buyers as well as by ensuring access to financial services through tailored financing mechanisms or partnerships with financial institutions.”
The organisation envisions transformative growth within the agricultural sector and mobilizing resources to support new entrants.
They are presently welcoming applications from young farmers to register their projects on the database.
A new Graduate and Agribusiness program has also been developed and is set to be implemented in agricultural and TVET colleges.
With a large member base, AGDA excels in fostering partnerships and alignment through collaborative efforts across all value chains, thereby enhancing market accessibility.
AGDA was founded in 2018 in response to the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa for partnerships to help stimulate job creation; (Priority one on the PPGI list for the agricultural sector).
This project was initiated under the leadership of In Transformation Initiative and Mr. Roelf Meyer – task team has been leading all processes.
It is a private sector led initiative in which various stakeholders such as agricultural unions, agribusinesses; financial services, communal, smallholder and commercial farmers, BASA, and NGO’s have been part of the establishment process.
It is a non-profit member based organisation that has a network of members across the agricultural value chain, commercial farmers, agribusiness, smallholder farmers, commodity organisations, agricultural unions, DFI’s and financial services sector amongst others.
