Handbook for Irrigation of Wine Grapes in South Africa

is skewed focus towards commercial agriculture; however, the reverse is true in certain other African countries, or perceived as more equitable. Where there is consensus, across all levels of agricultural endeavour, is that socio- economic aspects get too little attention. MORE PRACTICAL EXPOSURE NEEDED IN STUDENT STUDIES The South African agri-industry, over a prolonged period, has lamented the lack of practical exposure and experience of university graduates in particular. This unfortunate chasm in practical experience vested in graduates, which exist between university and industry, puts the brake, temporarily at least, on not only a company’s competitiveness but also that of the country. Funding for education is a contentious issue. In all forums where AET have been workshopped, the need for increased funding is raised – top of the item list slated for increased funding is “practical, vocationally relevant training”. Lack of funding is a debilitating factor for schools delivering agricultural science as a programme or subject. Shortcomings include lack of adequate infrastructure for practical training. Inefficient channelling and management of funding has been identified as problematic. FUNDING AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION

In light of the variety of components comprising the total agricultural supply chain, it should be recognized that not only skills linked with university degrees are required, but that skills should also come from a wider range of disciplines outside of the traditional agriculture- focused qualifications. The ‘boundary’ of agriculture is pliable – there are numerous qualifications and courses with links to the field of agriculture. In order to be relevant, Agricultural Education and Training (AET) needs to focus on building capacities not only for agricultural production, but also to equip a broader range of professionals and practitioners with the necessary skills to engage successfully with the key nodes (links) in the agricultural value chain. In addition to relevance, curricula should be multi- and transdisciplinary in order to build capacity for solving modern-day challenges such as evolving environments (e.g. climate change), new weeds and pests, resistance to pesticides, improved crops and livestock through classical breeding and genetic modification, etc. A challenge facing AET in South Africa and other countries on the continent is how to allocate scarce resources towards both commercial and small- scale farming. The argument, in particular for South Africa, is that currently there

The new partnership between Villa and Monash will go some distance to bridging not only the funding gap, but the skills gap as well… giving a vast number of young Africans the opportunity to pursue long and successful careers across all spheres of the agri-industry.