Advanced Diploma in Agricultural Management
Agriculture and Nature Conservation - Secondary Agriculture
Purpose and Rationale
Qualification:
Certificate in Agricultural Management
Purpose:
The primary purpose of the qualification is to provide learners with specialised knowledge and skills in the areas of economics and management principles used in the production, transformation, and marketing of food and other agricultural products. These principles are crucial for producing high-quality agricultural products with economic, aesthetic, social, and cultural value.
Learners will acquire skills, knowledge, values, and attitudes relevant to agricultural production, preparing them for roles in advisory services in agricultural management. This qualification aims to improve productivity on agricultural undertakings, especially for land reform beneficiaries, contributing to national food security and sustainable agricultural development.
Rationale:
The South African government's agricultural development programme relies on successful agricultural projects. Failures in these projects often stem from a lack of agricultural management skills among farmers and implementing staff, such as extension personnel. The shortage of skilled individuals, particularly from previously disadvantaged communities, exacerbates this issue.
Efficient planning, organising, implementing, and controlling agricultural resources are essential for the country's agricultural sector. Skilled personnel in agricultural management are vital to enhance the sector's development, ensuring food security and environmental sustainability. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (DAFF) has initiated programs to bolster food security, necessitating skilled practitioners in Agricultural Management.
This qualification addresses the scarcity of Agricultural Management skilled personnel needed to improve agricultural productivity for smallholder farmers, emerging commercial farmers, and land reform beneficiaries. By training learners and officials in Agricultural Departments, the qualification contributes to enhancing household food security, quality of life, and sustainable agricultural development.
In summary, this qualification equips learners with specialised knowledge and skills in economics and management principles applied to agricultural production, transformation, and marketing. The goal is to add value to agricultural products while considering economic, aesthetic, social, and cultural factors for sustainable agricultural development.
Outcomes
- Identify and solve problems and make decisions using critical and creative thinking.
- Work effectively with others as members of a team, group, organisation and community.
- Organise and manage themselves and their activities responsibly and effectively.
- Collect, analyse, organise and critically evaluate information. Communicate effectively using visual, mathematical and language skills in the modes of oral or written presentation.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation, and showing responsibility towards the environment and the health of others.
- Developing entrepreneurial opportunities.
Assessment Criteria
The qualification requires learners to apply the principles of creative and critical thinking to solve complex problems in managing agricultural projects, contracts, and other business activities. This includes working collaboratively in teams on various activities and projects. Learners are expected to independently collect, analyze, validate, process, and organize information from multiple sources and communicate their findings using appropriate tools and academic language.
Furthermore, learners are required to integrate principles from various sciences and technologies, as well as legal requirements, to emphasize the relationships between the environment, land, and the needs of the community and industry. They must also demonstrate project, contract, and business management skills essential for managing an agribusiness effectively.
Integrated assessment is used to determine whether a learner has successfully achieved the outcomes of each compulsory/core module. This assessment method evaluates the learner's competency in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and expertise, ensuring they can fulfill the purpose of the qualification as a whole. A range of formative and summative assessments, including written assignments and exams, are utilized for this purpose.
Continuous formative assessment, along with summative assessment, is conducted following the institution's Assessment Policy guidelines. The learner's summative assessment mark is based on a combination of marks obtained from compulsory assignments throughout the year and a written examination for each module.
Qualification Details
- Type
- Advanced Diploma
- NQF Level
- 07
- Min. Credits
- 120
- SAQA Source
- More Information
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This page includes information from the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) . Builtneat Pty Ltd trading as Study Start, has modified all or some of this information. SAQA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.