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FOOD
SECURITY
AT
THE CENTRE
OF
SIMISO’S
BEING
Each day Simiso Mathonsi works hard to feed his
love for farming and all things agricultural. This is a
love he has had from a young age, watching his late
grandmother growing her own crops which he would
harvest and sell to the local community. Simiso is
very aware of the problem of food security in South
Africa, which is caused by the growing population as
well as unforeseen challenges such as the COVID-19
pandemic. This avid agriculturalist thinks a mindshift
post COVID-19 is a necessity. He believes that a
permanent solution to tackle challenges of hunger
and poverty in South Africa will be for the country to
produce its own food.
“I
have had the privilege to travel to China and
visited the Demonstration Centre of China-South
Africa, Agricultural Technology Station. One
lesson I learnt was that South Africa is behind
with technology and is missing out on innovative agriculture.
To meet the huge demand for food, we need to adopt
modern technology to meet this growing demand like other
countries,” said Simiso.
Being selected to participate in the National Science Week
as a student at MUT was a life-changing opportunity for
Simiso. It was at that time that he realised he had chosen
a career he loved and wanted to grow in. He acknowledges
that the little opportunities provided by MUT outside the
lecture room confirmed his belief in the potential of farming to
change people’s lives.
Simiso is currently working on a poultry project in Mandeni,
northern KwaZulu-Natal. He designed the project to make
a difference to the local community. Besides creating job
opportunities, he aims to transfer skills to people who are
interested in farming and agriculture-related value chain
activities. Having realised that many people struggle to
develop sound business plans and write funding and
partnership proposals, he will use his skill set to develop his
community in this area.
To meet the huge demand for food, we need to adopt modern technology
to meet this growing demand like other countries.
M U T A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E
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