Soshanguve Engineering School of Specialisation is adding practical agriculture to its engineering and technical education, with 40 Grade 9 learners gaining hands-on experience in horticulture through two new tunnels and an accredited plant production part-qualification..
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The school’s focus is on learning by doing, with learners gaining practical experience in soil science, crop rotation, compost production, irrigation and pest and weed control.
The two horticultural tunnels and a borehole were officially opened on 15 September, with support from the Shoprite Foundation.
Agriculture alongside engineering
The project gives Grade 9 learners an opportunity to apply agricultural theory in a practical setting while continuing their engineering and technical education.
“At Soshanguve Engineering, we want to give more young people the chance to experience agriculture for themselves,” says Maude Modise, director of the Shoprite Foundation. “What’s particularly encouraging is that learners will not only leave the school with theoretical agricultural training, but also practical skills that will allow them to plant for sustenance.”
MarketPlace Academy, the Foundation’s implementation partner, trains educators as facilitators and supports the addition of an accredited plant production part-qualification to the CAPS curriculum.
“Learners already study agriculture at school, but an accredited plant production part-qualification also requires practical work,” says Chantyl Mulder, CEO of MarketPlace Academy. “The tunnels give them a place to do that work. That means they can leave school with matric and a recognised qualification that gives them a first step into the industry.”
Learning by doing
The practical approach is already familiar at Soshanguve.
Learners previously designed and built Modjadji, a solar-powered train that won the Engineering category at the Gauteng Schools of Specialisation Festival.
The horticultural tunnels offer another setting for that approach, with learners applying classroom knowledge to growing crops and managing the production process.
The school’s principal, Mashiane Tladi, says schools can also help young people see how agriculture can contribute to food security.
“The aim is for them to see agriculture not only as something they study, but as knowledge they can use at home, in further study or even to earn an income.”
The school also plans to use produce from the tunnels to supplement its feeding scheme, helping to reduce what it spends on food, Tladi says.
“Any surplus can be sold to the community, with the income invested back into the school.”
Building on earlier results
The Soshanguve project follows the Foundation’s first horticultural tunnel project at Oosrand Commerce and Entrepreneurship School of Specialisation in Reiger Park.
Approximately 5,000 units of produce have been harvested there over the past two years for the school’s feeding scheme and sale to the surrounding community.
More than 1,700 learners have received agricultural training.
The Grade 9 learners at Soshanguve are taking over from a pilot group that began working on the project last year.
“I’ve learnt that growing food involves much more than just planting seeds and watering them,” says Zanga Mphaphuli, 16, a Grade 11 learner who was part of that first group. “Things like temperature, soil quality, sunlight, pests and water management all make a difference.”
The school will manage the tunnels on a day-to-day basis, bringing the infrastructure provided by the Shoprite Foundation into the school's agricultural programme.
The Foundation’s other school-based work includes its AI, Coding and Robotics Programme, which has reached more than 8,800 learners through seven labs in five provinces.
