Episode 4: The faces of educating children in agriculture

SAPPO farmer Myles van Deventer (Baynesfield Estate) is empowering communities through free private education and a student programme.

Farms and the people and communities that surround them are inextricably linked – often one cannot truly thrive without the other. Farmers understand the importance of these relationships better than anyone. They understand that to be successful they have to have a successful team of people, and that ensuring you have a reliable and committed workforce is more than simply doing what is expected of an employer. It’s about going above and beyond to ensure that their people are well looked after, like one of their own. Baynesfield Estate, a diversified farming operation that produces pork, is one such example. The estate is held in a private trust with the mandate to benefit the people of South Africa. It established a no-fee private primary school for the children in the community with the understanding that quality education has a multiplier effect that stretches on long into the future. From there, ‘the future famer’ student programme springboards young graduates into the world of agriculture – the perfect stepping stone for rising in the ranks or starting a farm of their own one day.