Johannesburg – Seotlong Agricultural and Hotel High School in the Free State have created employment for hundreds of Phuthaditjhaba residents living near the school premises.
Despite the high school being an academic institution, it also provides opportunities for unemployed residents to work with them through its agricultural programme.
It has a 130-hectare farm where learners are taken through rigorous practical training in, among others, harvesting and sheep herding.
The school now supplies its products to local reputable stores.
One of the nearby residents who work at the school, Poppy Selepe said the school has afforded them much needed work.
“The school has created job opportunities for many of us within this community. The school hires seasonal workers and this time they chose 100 people from the community to assist with removing weeds around the soyabeans as well as to harvest them.
“During the time of my employment, I was able to pay for my child’s school fees and buy necessities for the house,” Selepe said.
Through their hard work, the school has caught the eye of big reputable companies.
The school has been selling their produced spinach to BiBi Cash and Carry since 2021. The store manager in the food and vegetable department, Moeketsi Mofokeng, has commended the school in their amazing batch of spinach.
Moeketsi Mofokeng, BiBi Cash and Carry’s Manager in the food and vegetable department commended the school on their amazing batch of spinach.
They also supply fast food outlets such as Wimpy and Shell petrol stations in QwaQwa with 18 crates worth of eggs.
A teacher, who teaches Agricultural Management Practices and Agricultural Technology to learners from Grade 10 to 12. and farm manager at the school, Benjamin Nhlapo, is one of the teachers who contributes to the school's farm’s success.
Nhlapo has a diploma in Agriculture, Management and Marketing and has attended courses in sheep farming, broiler, and layer management as well as organic farming for vegetables.
The school principal, Lekhotla Mohapi, said he was proud of their work and stated the youth must be encouraged to participate in agriculture as it does not only ensures food security for the country, but importantly, recognised as a lucrative business and people can make a good living out of it.
“We are proud of the work we are doing. The school is developing future crop and cattle farmers. We are also creating employment opportunities for people in our community who assist with removing weeds around the soyabeans as well as to harvest them,” Mohapi said.
The school also boosts a professional hospitality section that provides catering services to outsiders using crops from their farms.
Both theoretical and practical evaluation assignments are a part of the training and educational procedures in hospitality studies.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
Education