Biodynamic Agricultural Association Southern Africa | Future farmers
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Growing new farmers for a brighter tomorrow, BDAASA is providing training to support biodynamic farming in Southern Africa.
Meet Nthatisi. She is a future farmer.
Learning hands-on about agroecology and enterprise creation, Nthatisi and other fellow trainees are part of a ‘Train a New Farmer Programme in Southern Africa’ —hosted by the Biodynamic Agricultural Association Southern Africa (BDAASA).
Due to climate change and socio-political issues, Southern Africa faces a potentially devastating future with staggering unemployment and loss of agricultural land. Its impact will be felt on food sovereignty and the endless cycle of poverty.
Through training, BDAASA aims to address these challenges one farmer at a time. Its solid track record of graduate students demonstrates that entrepreneurial prospects are vastly improved for students and their communities and families.
Since joining in January 2020, Nthatisi is in her second year working on an Eco-farm in Natal. She joins the programme regularly from the farm for live zoom sessions as she completes the 2-year diploma with fellow students from all over South Africa. She’s recently completed assignments including BD compost; BD preparation making; soil cultivation; farm fertility; and seeds and plant breeding.
At present she is working on plant science and engaging in multidisciplinary methods to understand animal science and its role in the farm. For the remaining months of the year she’ll study enterprise management to understand the strengths and weaknesses within an enterprise.
With her main interest in growing vegetables to sell them to the local community, Nthatisi has been passionate about farming since she was a little girl, ‘like many of my fellow African youths, I see the need for a new kind of agriculture that doesn’t harm the environment and its people.’