Hollard Insure and Farmingportal.co.za and Agri News Net - Young Agri Writers competition
Agricultural sports do exist and are unfortunately overlooked, not well structured and disguised as competitions within the sector. Interestingly, if the opportunities are understood within the sector, many challenges such as making agriculture attractive to young people, securing financing, mitigating climate change in the midst of limited resources (water) or achieving food security can be overcome. How is this possible? Let us explore.
Firstly, there is a need to understand how this sport would look like. Just like old Macdonald's couldn't wait to take his big pumpkin to farmer’s day to compete with his neighbour; that in essence is what an Agricultural sport must look like. It means we have people (like sport players) who have an end goal in mind. This could be planting in the most innovative ways or growing livestock in the most efficient way that contributes the least to Greenhouse Gas Emissions (adding garlic in feed) or developing prototypes of machinery that are efficient and cost effective or minimising food wastage or developing prototype systems that will ensure better access to food that is both nutritional and healthy (food security) or enabling people in the sector to voice out their best ideas within the sector (like this writing competition).
Nevertheless such competitions do exist. However, they are not well structured. Just like any other well developed sport, there is a need for a league. A league represents the ability for the ‘sport’ to pool resources together in order for the sport to grow. This then results in the ripple effect of the sport having more awareness and being more attractive. There are less strides made in this regard especially in the sector. However there are few examples within and outside the sector.
For instance, the Motsepe and Milken Institute recently partnered for an agri-tech prize for Africa. This competition is an example of how a league for an agricultural sports would look like. Here, anyone with an interest (as long as they have the skills to back it up) can enter a 'team' that is able to develop a prototype agri-tech solving certain agricultural problems within the continent. There are stages involved in order to get the prize; where the idea moves from a prototype to pilot etc.
The other example to draw inspiration from is the E-sports industry which is popular in Asian and European countries. The industry mimics the traditional sport and garners resources from various stakeholders to achieve their mandate. The figures are also impressive as the global eSports market was valued at just over 1.08 billion U.S. dollars, an almost 50 percent increase from the previous year.
In essence, there is a need to look at the agricultural industry beyond primary and secondary agriculture because it is not only that. It needs innovation that is consistent and provides solutions to some of the challenges faced by the sector. Agricultural sports and its associated benefits may be exactly the innovation drive that is needed in the sector.
Masiziba Hadebe
"I am Masiziba Ruth Hadebe and I can be described in one word: Sunshine. I choose to give meaningful light to the world I am living in. Whether it's through paving the way for those coming after me and improving the standards of the giants whose shoulders I am standing on. I am currently a dedicated masters student (Agricultural Economics) at the University of the Free State (UFS) and an Agricultural and community volunteer. I grew up in the small town of Balfour in Mpumalanga (Siyathemba township) and there I was given a foundation I will forever appreciate. In my free time, you find me delving into the written word, whether it is compiling it or simply reading it. Topics that interest me are anything between Agriculture and Science. I also enjoy series and movies especially those adapted from books"
