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November 2017
8
The fulϐilment of getting involved
W
hile listening in church on Sunday to our pastor’s ser-
mon about making a difference in our community,
I started thinking of everybody involved in the Jobs
Fund. According to the pastor, it has become too easy
to pray for certain things without doing anything to make it hap-
pen. It is as if we think that by praying our duty is done. Praying is
imperative, but doing something about the challenge at hand re-
quires of you to give something of yourself.
Everyone that is part of Grain SA’s Farmer Development Pro-
gramme is giving something of themselves. Our aim is to devel-
op capacitated black commercial farmers who can contribute to
household and national food security by producing the optimum
volume of maize on the available land.
The Jobs Fund programme focuses on training and skills develop-
ment through study groups, farmers days and demonstration trial
plots, driven by our skilled team of development co-ordinators
and mentors. The team uses their skills and knowledge to teach
subsistence farmers to develop sustainable farming practices.
These subsistence farmers can now produce enough food for their
households and can even sell maize for a much-needed income.
The whole idea is for the farmers to start on a small scale and in
time to grow and to produce more maize.
In the beginning farmers are taught about the importance of the
quality of the soil they farm on. Soil samples are taken and after they
have paid to have it analysed, the farmers are taught how to use
this new knowledge to increase yields. All the aspects of good pro-
duction practices are taught: Soil depth, soil type, soil compaction,
seed selection, plant population, weed control, pest control, harvest-
ing, storage and marketing.
They are taught how to use chemical herbicides instead of hand
hoes. Knowledge of using no-till methods instead of conventional
ploughing opens a new world for these farmers as they surely don’t
have access to mechanisation.
The experience of mentors working alongside the farmers ensures
production of crops and farmers learn valuable lessons.
Soon great things start to happen for both the farmers and the
mentors. The farmers start trusting the mentors as the improvement
in the crops become visible and a relationship starts to develop.
The first thing a mentor will say after working with subsistence
farmers is how rewarding it is to give something of yourself and that
you receive much more in return when you see the farmer grow in
knowledge and confidence.
Yields have increased from 1 t/ha to 5 t/ha and in some instances
even 8 t/ha or 9 t/ha were recorded. An increase in production leads
to farmers having the confidence to expand the number of hectares
that they plant. There are a lot of farmers who have grown from
1 ha and 2 ha to 8 ha, 10 ha, 12 ha, 15 ha and 18 ha in the past four
years and a few more which makes you very proud and gives you
confidence in what you’re doing.
When the Jobs Fund started in the 2014/2015 season planting
was done by hand and ox drawn planters and a few two row no-
till planters were used by 850 farmers. In the 2016/2017 season the
number of farmers grew to 2 905 farmers, which made it impossible
to plant everything by hand.
The Department of Agriculture came to our rescue in various
ways. No-till planters, boom sprayers and tractors where provided
in some areas – which brought us closer together and benefited all
the farmers.
Another contributing factor to the success of the project is that
farmers make a financial contribution each year that increases as
they grow. This strengthens the farmers’ sense of self-worth.
This project won’t be possible without the aid of the various
input companies such as SA Lime and Gypsum, Monsanto, Kynoch,
Syngenta, and the Sasol Trust. The Jobs Fund project gives all of
us the opportunity to experience the miracle of giving away the
knowledge that we possess.
Don’t wait to give something of yourself. Get involved and make a
difference!
GRAIN SA
JURIE MENTZ,
development co-ordinator, Grain SA
Grain SA/Sasol photo competition
Shaun van der Vaart – 2016
Jobs Fund