Photo: Sabrina Dean
The curriculum would comprise theory and practice, covering plains game, feline species, and big game species, along with information on how to connect with value chain role players such as retailers and feedlots.
Francoais Schutte, a buffalo breeder from the Free State, along with Charmaine Alberts, who had experience with the stockman school, and Dr Michael Bradfield, CEO of Breedplan, developed the idea for the school.
Schutte had experience presenting courses and workshops on buffalo breeding, in collaboration with nature conservation, state veterinary officials, and Alberts’ late husband Paul.
Bradfield explained the school was necessary as there were many new entrants into the industry, who would be looking to learn more about it.
According to him the same situation had happened with the livestock industry, where there had been “no real source of learning”.
He said “extension officers were more focused on educating communal farmers and smallholder producers”, and that that had left a “vacuum for the training of commercial producers”.
Schutte said he already had a list of 22 potential speakers, including international hunters and venison producers.
Final dates and programme details were still to be confirmed.
