Skills Development
Overview
SAMAC is committed to enhancing skills throughout the macadamia nut value chain within the South African industry, recognising it as a pivotal factor in the industry’s growth. Within the scope of Sustainable Development, we provide the following initiatives:
Bursaries
Every year, SAMAC extends financial support to academically outstanding South African undergraduate and postgraduate students pursuing studies in Agriculture, with a specific focus on crop production and horticulture courses at tertiary learning institutions. The primary objective of these bursaries is to assist deserving students aspiring to build careers within the Macadamia industry in South Africa. Consequently, financial aid is offered to students pursuing degrees or postgraduate qualifications, preferably with a specialisation in Horticultural Science.
For more information about bursaries please refer to the bursary policy. Interested applicants should complete the application forms and submit them to SAMAC along with the requisite documentation specified therein.
Interested applicants should complete the application forms and submit them to juandre@samac.org.za with the requisite documentation specified therein.
Study groups
We collaborate with premier skills service providers and industry experts to facilitate study groups and training sessions. This ensures that our farmers are consistently improving their skills to produce high-quality outputs suitable for export.
Our study group sessions are aligned with the phenology calendar of the macadamia season; for instance, we conduct a harvesting study group during the harvest season. For more information about upcoming study groups, please see our events calendar.
Global GAP Training
SAMAC supports emerging farmers in producing export-quality produce through Global GAP training. Global GAP provides a portfolio of robust, streamlined, and easy-to-use solutions for certifying agriculture, aquaculture, and floriculture production processes. Their capacity-building programme promotes the global adoption of safer and more sustainable farming practices in over 130 countries.
The Global GAP Training programme, co-funded by Trade Forward Southern Africa (TFSA), concluded in 2023 with a 100% pass rate, underscoring the effectiveness of our commitment to enhancing the skills and standards of our farmers.
Our Impact
Empowering Agriculture: SAMAC’s Partnership with Recruit Agri
SAMAC has partnered with Recruit Agri; who provide practical farming experience through their bespoke internship programme to the youth. The partnership between SAMAC and Recruit Agri brings impact into the macadamia nut industry by developing scarce skills needed by the agricultural industry in South Africa.
Through hands-on experience in farming and processing, coupled with networking opportunities, Recruit Agri is developing the new crop of leaders in agriculture. From 2018 to date, Recruit Agri has placed over 95% of their graduates in employment and are focused on uplifting women in agriculture. Furthermore, the macadamia nut industry due to its growth has recruited more than 60 percent of the graduates from the Recruit Agri internship into employment opportunities.
These roles include job types like quality controllers, production assistant managers, junior farm managers, junior section managers, production supervisors and plant production specialists to mention a few. These skills are being developed and deployed into the agriculture industry. This helps us achieve sustainable development goals 8 and 10. These are the goals of decent work, economic opportunities and reduced inequality.
In 2023, Recruit Agri expanded its curriculum by adding a processing module to stay aligned with evolving industry requirements, demonstrating their commitment to providing relevant training for future agricultural professionals.