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New initiative will boost use of water-smart technologies in agriculture

08-02-2021

As part of the project "Strengthening skills of TVET staff and students for optimizing water usage & climate smart agriculture in South Africa" which is managed by MSM and Stellenbosch University, a multi-stakeholder platform which aims to boost the use of water-smart technologies by farmers in Limpopo, Free State and Mpumalanga will be launched on 23 February 2021.

The Triple Helix (3H) initiative will provide a platform for farmers to work with local government, agri-business and research institutions towards finding joint solutions for their specific, local challenges. These solutions range from the introduction of new technologies, to the sharing of knowledge, opening networks to finance and providing skills training.

The 3H platform is the result of a collaboration between Stellenbosch University (SU) and the Maastricht School of Management (MSM), and facilitated by Agricolleges International (ACI).

“The 3H platform will act as a multi-stakeholder initiative in the domain of water-smart agriculture and horticulture. It will unite local government, local academia and researchers with farmers and agri-businesses. The aim is to further boost adaptation of water-smart technology in these regions," says project managers Hans Nijhoff from MSM and Manuel Jackson from SU.

The establishment of this platform is based on a labour market needs assessment, conducted by researchers from SU and MSM in 2019, to gain better insights into the skills needs of the horticultural and agricultural industry sector when hiring graduates from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges in South Africa. The project, “Strengthening Skills of TVET Staff and Students for Optimizing Water Usage and Climate Smart Agriculture in South Africa" was funded through the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) by the Netherlands Universities Foundation for International Cooperation (NUFFIC), through the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the launch of the Triple Helix platform initiative, researchers will provide feedback on their findings from the labour market needs assessment survey. The speakers are Prof Danie Brink and Manuel Jackson from SU, Hans Nijhoff and André Dellevoet from MSM, Huba Boshoff from Nuffic/NESO, Jolanda Andrag from AgriSA, Prof Peliwe Lolwana from the South African Qualifications Authority, Wynand Espach from ACI, Johan Klinck from Motheo TVET College and representatives from the Nkangala, Vhembe and Motheo TVET Colleges.

About the project
The project combines the promotion of agriculture growth and sustainable & equitable water use. It will concentrate on the educating young people in the field of optimizing water usage & climate smart agriculture. The consortium bases its focus on improving the skills and employability of TVET graduates, the TVET programs must be based on the needs in the agriculture and water labour market.

The project is managed by Maastricht School of Management in collaboration with Stellenbosch University. MSM and SU together with the consortium that exist out of Graafschap College, CINOP Global, Q-Point BV, Acacia Water BV, SaltFarm Texel, AgriColleges International (ACI) andAcademy for Environmental Leadership (AEL) capacitate Western Cape Department of Agriculture, Elsenburg Agricultural Training Institute, Boland College, Vhembe TVET College, Motheo TVET College, Nkangala TVET College and Northern Cape Rural TVET College.during the Labour Market Needs Assessment workshops. The establishment of the triple helix platform, which is scheduled to be launched in the first quarter of 2021, will be based on partnerships with private and government actors established during the labour market needs assessment.

Orange Knowledge Programme
This project is part of the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) which is funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Nuffic. For more information click here.

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