Eastern Cape’s Dwayne Kaschula wins Young Farmer of the Year Award

By Magda du Toit | 22 November 2024 | 7:00 pm

The 2024 Toyota SA/Agri SA Awards celebrated farming excellence on Thursday, with Dwayne Kaschula from Maclear, Eastern Cape, winning the Young Farmer of the Year Award.

From left: Jaco Minnaar, president of Agri SA; Leon Theron, Senior Vice President of Sales, and Marketing, Toyota SA; Dwayne Kaschula, farmer from the Eastern Cape; and Prof Carlu van der Westhuizen, technical adviser for the Toyota/Agri-SA Young Farmer of the Year and New Harvest of the Year competitions. Photo: Magda du Toit

Kaschula (37) and his wife Kathy of the Confluence farming enterprise manage a mixed farming operation comprising crops, livestock, eggs, and game.

Speaking at the event, Leon Theron, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Toyota SA, said that as a company they were proud to invest in the agriculture sector and in the country. He commended Agri SA for their steadfast dedication to the farming sector.

“It is important to engage with government and to stay relevant,” he stressed in his address.

Jaco Minnaar, president of Agri SA, said that year after year they were impressed with the innovation and resilience shown by young farmers.

“All the participants were of a high quality and examples of what the future of agriculture looks like. All of the finalists in the Young Farmer, New Harvest, and Communal Farming Association of the Year competition are already winners that show dedication, resilience, innovation and a passion for agriculture.”

Minnaar added that the purpose of these awards were to recognise achievements and dedication, to serve as an inspiration to others and to showcase the quality of people in the agriculture sector.

The winner in the Toyota SA Communal Farming Association category was Modulaqhowa Primary Co-operative Limited from the Free State. The group was formed in 2014 and comprises 71 members. Sophy Mabebe acts as chairperson in the Botshabelo district.

Meshack Ndongeni, a cattle and sheep farmer from Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal, was named this year’s Toyota SA/Agri SA New Harvest Farmer of the Year. In February, Ndongeni was also awarded Potatoes SA Commercial New Era Potato Producer of the Year.