The Poultry Project in South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal Poultry Institute

WPF contracted with the KwaZulu-Natal Poultry Institute (KZNPI), a private poultry training facility, to provide poultry production training for up to 300 South African government extension agents, technical advisors and historically disadvantaged poultry farmers. The training started in early 2017 and will continue into 2019 in a series of one-week, on-site sessions. In addition, in a Poultry Advisory Workshop funded by WPF, KZNPI further enhanced the skills of 15 extension agents selected from the production course. The additional training gives the extension agents a toolbox of skills to improve their impact when visiting and advising producers and the ability to “train the trainers.” WPF has also provided a grant to KZNPI to improve its training infrastructure. The WPF-funded poultry training at KZNPI has enjoyed the support of the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), the South African Department of Trade and Industry, USDA and the U.S. Department of State through its Fulbright Specialist Program. Dr. Mike Lacy of the University of Georgia was selected as the Fulbright Specialist to assist the WPF and KZNPI in developing training modules for the institute as well as universities in South Africa.

Future Farmers Foundation

The WPF has provided grants to the Future Farmers Foundation of South Africa to enhance their poultry internship program and train a new generation of South African poultry farmers and poultry farm managers. The funds are used to send aspiring South African poultry farmers to commercial poultry operations in the U.S. for practical training and guidance. The Future Farmers Foundation provides platforms from which young, historically disadvantaged men and women who are passionate about agriculture can become successful commercial farm managers or farmers in their own right. Under an apprenticeship system, the youths are placed on South African farms where they are mentored and gain experience starting from the bottom up. Those who excel are later selected for a one-year internship on an overseas commercial farm. The Future Farmers Foundation works with the WISE Foundation to place and support the WPF-sponsored poultry interns in the U.S.

Financial Workshops

In July 2018, the first in a series of financial workshops for poultry producers in South Africa successfully trained twenty-five individuals in several important aspects of finances including general accounting methods, record keeping, balance sheets and cost and income projections for their own operations. This training was conducted by Franchising Plus of Pretoria, with additional support from NedBank, and the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the provincial agricultural staff. The city of Mokopane provided the venue and members of both DAFF and provincial agricultural officials observed all the financial presentations. The US Department of Agriculture provided a grant to WPF in support of this training. Participants had an overwhelmingly positive review of the workshop, highlighting the effectiveness of presentations and the one-on-one availability of professionals to assist attendees. Follow-up events with each farmer are scheduled to determine how well they have been maintaining their production and expense records, and if they have been utilizing the financial tools presented to them.