Starting September 1, 2021, the 12-month, part-time program will provide 20 participants with quality agro-industry training, technical and sales skills, leadership development, agro-entrepreneurship management and work experience.

The program is fully funded by the AAF and implemented through AGCO South Africa’s headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Gordon Institute of Business Science and Harper Adams University in the U.K. will facilitate the program, and AGCO South Africa and the Cerealis Technology Institute in South Africa will provide technical expertise and support.

The AAF is supporting the program as part of its focus on advancement of quality education in agriculture. One of the challenges Africa faces is a widening skills gap and lack of qualified professionals entering the industry, as only 2% of university graduates in Africa specialize in agriculture. By offering the AAQ program, the AAF seeks to promote sustainable agriculture development and commercial agriculture-based enterprises.

“We believe that access to quality education and hands-on training leads to the enhancement of capacity building and skill development in farming,”

said Metti Richenhagen, Director, AGCO Agriculture Foundation.

“Almost two-thirds of the world’s arable land is in Africa, so the continent has great potential to feed itself and the global population. Through the AAQ program, we hope to empower participants who have a passion for the agricultural sector, particularly technical and sales representatives, who can serve as trusted partners to African farmers.”

“There is currently a great demand in our region for qualified professionals to ensure that Africa has safe, sustainable production systems in place,”

said Dr. Dominik Reus, Managing Director, AGCO Africa.

“We look forward to implementing the AAQ program, working with our partner Cerealis Technology Institute of South Africa and supporting our academic hosts.”

Applications for the 2021 AAQ cohort are now open.

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“We’re very happy to work with Yara Belle Plaine and Down to Earth Ag Research to look at practices and application systems that could really benefit producers not only in increased yields but also in return on investment. This is the kind of project that fits the Discovery Farm mandate to a tee, with industry and research partners working together to find practical, applicable solutions in agriculture.”

says Blake Weiseth, Applied Research Lead at Discovery Farm.

A total of 80 acres at Discovery Farm will be devoted to the large-scale trials, explains Weiseth, including 40 seeded with canola and another 40 with wheat. Standard farming practices will be used on half of each crop as a control. The other half will feature alternative practices, products and technology designed to improve crop yield, nutrient use efficiency and grower profitability.

“Having an Incubator Farm in the heart of the Prairies, near our Belle Plaine, Sask. nitrogen facility, has been a long-term goal in our effort to further support the agriculture community here in Western Canada. Our research at Discovery Farm will allow us to showcase new and traditional practices to our retail partners and their farmers that could make a difference in how, when, and what nutrition is applied as we work toward keeping operations simple and farms profitable.”

says Mandy Huska, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Yara in Western Canada.

In addition to field scale trials, the research underway at Discovery Farm also involves a small-plot component where Yara will trial new granular fertilizers, fertilizer coatings, and foliar nutrition products along with crop nutrition strategies on key western Canadian crops.

“We call these incubator projects because it allows us to bring to scale learnings from these and other Yara trials in a more commercial context. Ultimately, we intend for the farm to serve as a platform to demonstrate innovative ways to deliver complete crop nutrition, without creating additional complexity for the farmer, while increasing net return on investment on practices implemented”

says Markus Braaten, Market Development Manager for Yara North America.

Down to Earth Ag Research will manage all aspects of the project, from seeding to harvest, on both the large and small plots. For Down to Earth Ag Research Founder and CEO Dean Streisel, the research results will help farmers recognize the value that comes with paying attention to nutrition.

“Farmers want products and systems that boost yield, but they also need to see the economic benefit,” he says. “We’re excited to be part of research that will make our limited amount of agricultural land even more productive.”

Source: YARA Canada

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“We created this series as an expression of our support for this community. In addition to offering valuable information and insights in the context of this COVID challenge, we hope to deliver inspiration — we have an opportunity in this moment to, together, shape the future of the farm and food chain.”

said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech.

The series consists of presentations from Lyons and three-panel discussions with experts including David McWilliams, economist, and professor at Trinity College Dublin; Jessica Adelman, CEO of ESG Results and a former executive at Kroger; Jack Bobo, futurist and CEO of Futurity; and Ryan Quarles, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture.

To access the Forging the Future of the Farm & Food Chain series on-demand, visit alltech.com/futurefarm. That special COVID-19 discussion series includes:

Cultivating Optimism & Opportunity: Leadership in Times of Crisis

How can leaders bring certainty in a time of uncertainty? How can they help their teams think proactively in order to discover opportunity and drive innovation? 

From the Frontlines of Food Production

This panel discussion takes a first-hand look at the experiences of those working within the food/feed sector in the midst of COVID-19.

The Post-COVID Consumer: A Remaking of the Market?

This panel discussion features an investigation into the lasting impact COVID-19 could have on consumers and the global economy.

Keep Calm & Carry On: The Essential Business of Agriculture

Experts investigate how the current crisis is reshaping the agriculture sector. 

Planet of Plenty in a Post-COVID World

In the midst of this COVID crisis, the global agriculture community has carried on its essential work — rising with the sun no matter the circumstance.

This COVID-19 special series reflects the insightful, thought-provoking content that will be available as part of the Alltech ONE Virtual Experience beginning on May 18, 2020.

The virtual program will include live-streamed keynote presentations and on-demand video content from some of the world’s leading industry experts as they address the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture today.  

Source: ALLTECH

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