Study Financial Management online

Future farmers, are you seeking an online course that will help you grow a profitable farming business?

Improve your financial management skills with Buhle online!

* Designed for farmers of every level of skill, from novice to experienced.
* Start when you are ready and study from home.
* Apply lessons directly to your agribusiness.

Enroll now for this exciting opportunity on learn.buhle.org.za.

Introducing Buhle

There are many thousands of new farmers in South Africa who have access to arable land but don't have the skills, guidance and capital they need to grow a viable farming business. Buhle Farmers’ Academy is a non-profit organisation that trains, mentors and supports these aspiring farmers.

We offer holistic courses covering all the farming and management skills that new farmers need (see Programme section for more details), and trainees come from all over the country to learn at our campus near Delmas, Mpumalanga. Our farmer support offices mentor as many of our graduates as possible, and we manage several programme providing financial support to some of our most promising alumni.

Since we opened our doors in the year 2000 we have grown from strength to strength, and have now trained about 6 000 emerging farmers - half of them women and 60% of them youth - in vegetable, crops, poultry and livestock production, and mixed farming. Even better, about 12 000 jobs have been created due to Buhle, based on the assumption that for every new farmer established, at least one additional job is created.

Our Mission

Buhle’s mission is train and support aspiring farmers from across South Africa to run farming businesses that are both profitable and sustainable. The effect is that we are helping to alleviate poverty by creating jobs, while ensuring food security.

Over the years, Buhle has developed a best-practice model that could help make a huge difference in helping to transform agriculture in South Africa.

In the rural and poorest areas of our country, the biggest employers are government, agriculture and mining. Most of these employers are unlikely to radically increase their take-up of employees. Our biggest hope lies in developing a culture of entrepreneurship, and agriculture is one of the key sectors for doing so.

Universities and training colleges are expensive and have strict academic entrance criteria, which many aspiring farmers cannot fulfil. They need accessible, practical training with the follow-up coaching and support that enables them to overcome the myriad, unpredictable challenges of agriculture.

Buhle fulfils these needs.

Our History
In the years after 1994 – when South Africa became a democracy – our newspapers were peppered with stories of how farming ventures fail after being handed over to black farmers. It became clear that transferring land was simply not enough. Emerging farmers also needed farming skills and ongoing mentorship.

A group of concerned citizens with agricultural expertise decided to address this problem. In the year 2000, they got together to form the Food Health Hope Foundation and, under its auspices, Buhle – meaning “It is good” – was established.

Our founding partner was Monsanto, now Bayer, who donated to us the fertile land that became our training farm and gave us the start-up capital we needed. We developed our first curriculum in conjunction with Tshwane University of Technology, focusing on vegetable production as it has a short production cycle. Two years later, we added poultry, livestock and crop production courses.

In 2004, we registered the Buhle Farmers’ Academy as an NPO in order to continue our fundraising efforts. We have grown from strength to strength over the years. From our first cohort of 57 students in the year 2000, we trained over 500 in 2018, and we have now trained almost 6 000 farmers over the years.

Our heartfelt thanks go to every one of our funding partners. With your backing and partnership, we are indeed fulfilling our mission: to transform dreams into reality for many thousands of aspiring farmers.

Our Approach

Buhle has developed a best-practice model for training aspiring farmers, which includes:

A sound theoretical knowledge base in agricultural technology
Competency based practical skills training
Training in farm business management
Training in appropriate life skills
Effective follow-up and support services.

Our People

Our staff are the people who make it all happen, and behind us is the highest authority of our organisation, the Board of Trustees of the Food Health Hope Foundation.

The Board oversees our vision, mission and activities. Motivated entirely by their sense of philanthropy, they donate their time, knowledge, experience and prestige to help grow and guide the Buhle Farmers’ Academy.

A picture of our staff on each campus is below, and underneath that is a list of our board of trustees.

Our Partners

Our heartfelt thanks go to every one of our partners, who make our work possible:

Offering a host of courses post-lockdown

Buhle is offering a host of courses for the remainder of 2020, having adapted our schedule after the national Covid-19 lockdown:

1. Grain Production, 30 November – 18 December, is the first of four modules in this course. Students can choose to do just this module, which concentrates on how to operate a tractor and the different equipment used in land preparation, or all four modules. The next three will take place in 2021.

2. Our many short courses include Tractor Operation and Management, Introduction to Basic Vegetable Production, Intro to Layer House Management, Intro to Broiler Production, Intro to Piggery Production and Hydroponics (see graphic below for dates and text below the graphic for course descriptions). Enroll on www.buhle.org.za/enroll and WhatsApp 063 287 2732 with queries.

3. Our online Financial Management course. Financial Management is a make-or-break skill for every farmer building up a profitable agribusiness. Find out more and enroll on www.learn.buhle.org.za.

SHORT COURSE OUTLINES

Enroll on www.buhle.org.za/enroll and WhatsApp 063 287 2732 with queries.

Introduction to basic vegetable production

This course focuses on the principles of vegetable production under irrigation. The learner will gain an understanding of:

The procedures of soil analysis and land preparation for planting
Correct planting procedures which includes plant spacing
The safe and correct use of chemicals for pest and weed eradication
Fertilisation and irrigation to ensure crop establishment and growth
The formulation of seedlings for own production
Harvesting methods that assist maintenance of product quality

A practical component is included in the classes i.e. planting/making seedlings/spraying for pests.

Introduction to layer house management

This course serves to introduce the important aspects of managing a layer house unit. The learner will gain an understanding of:

Layer hen breeds, handling and housing of layer hens and feeding of these birds
The daily bird health and vaccination principles
Egg collection, storage and packaging for marketing
Records to be kept for management purposes

A practical component is included in the classes i.e. feeding birds/collecting eggs/cleaning the house.

Introduction to broiler house management

This course serves as an introduction to the essential aspects of broiler house management. The learner will gain an understanding of:

Biosecurity, broiler house hygiene and management for bird health
Broiler breeds, feeding of the birds at different stages
Diseases and bird vaccination programmes at different stages to promote bird health and development
Daily house operations from day one until marketing
Record-keeping and management principles

A practical component is included in the classes i.e. cleaning the broiler house/placement of chicks/feeding of the birds/vaccination of the birds.

Introduction to piggery production

This course introduces the basic aspects of managing a housed piggery unit which enables the learner to learn the following:

Piggery biosecurity and effective house hygiene management
Choosing the pig breed suited to your production
Pig breeding and reproduction
Pig disease management which includes vaccinations for sow, boar and piglets
Feeding and nutrition for pigs for intensive feeding systems

A practical component is included in the classes i.e. piggery cleaning/feeding of pigs/ vaccinating pigs.

Hydroponics

This course trains students in the basic principles of vegetable production under hydroponics by addressing the following:

Different systems and structures that can be constructed specifically for hydroponics
Different growth media to be used in a hydroponics system
Suitable Crops and cultivars that flourish in this type of system
Fertigation and irrigation to ensure effective crop establishment and development
Sanitation and hygiene principles
Scouting: Pest and Diseases management

Tractor operation and maintenance

This course teaches the basic principles of tractor operating and will allow the learner to gain an understanding of:

The important safety measures to take when using a tractor
The daily maintenance of the tractor for production
Service and maintenance of the tractor for longevity
How to hitch and use implements for land preparation

A practical component is included in the classes i.e. The practical experience of driving a tractor/ hitching implements/service of a tractor.

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