Agro-entrepreneur Andile Siphesihle Ngcobo has become the mentor and business strategist he wished he had.
In 2013, Andile Siphesihle Ngcobo enrolled at Cedara College of Agriculture in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) to study farming. Six years later at the age of 25, he was managing the operations of a farm with over 100 workers. In 2024, he is venturing into innovative agrotechnologies and mentoring all over the world.
"My career has shifted from primary agriculture to processing and mentoring, I realised in my own journey that there is a gap in mentorship. Finding a mentor in farming is difficult simply just because farms are isolated, where do you go, where do you drive to because the farms are on the outskirts," says Ngcobo.
Ngcobo, 29, says the only chance for mentoring is at agri- shows but that is also hard as the farming community can be closed off, and intimidating to try to infiltrate.
Ngcobo has a huge social media following. He says this has encouraged young and older people who want to be farmers, or agriculture students who need mentorship and internships. Even people who are already in the business would reach out asking about certain parts of the business, which led to Ngcobo establishing a consulting business that now hires over eight people....
