On 19 April 2022, the first Vocational Training of the NGGA started in Aussenkehr. The course followed the curriculum as prescribed by the South African Agriculture Sector Education and Training Authority and was contextualized to meet the requirements of Agra Agriculture Academy for Namibia. The content followed a systematic approach within the overall course objectives, making it easy to use. Over 4 days the course served as a guideline to understanding of concepts in Viticulture, defined as a study of science in growing grapes.

A total of 27 trainees from the NGGA’s producers participated in the course.

The facilitator was Mr. Gawie van der Merwe, B.Sc. Hons, Viticulture-Stellenbosch University; Masters’ degree.

The atmosphere was enthusiastic every morning and everyone felt comfortable to ask questions.

Daily lunch was catered by Spar Aussenkehr. The NGGA would like to thank Spar for the fresh and delicious food that was prepared.

The NGGA financed most of the costing in order to bring top quality training to our producers. We hope to make this a yearly occurrence on our calendar. We hope that all the trainees will use the knowledge to grow our industry in our beautiful country!

A huge thank you to Agra ProVision, I3A and Mr. Gawie van der Merwe!