Crop farmer: Owen van Rooi

Owen van Rooi is a crop farmer and small business owner who recently obtained a degree in horticulture at the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST). He officially started his business, Platsand Produce, after he completed his studies. He is currently pursuing an honours degree in agribusiness, also at NUST.

Van Rooi’s job description as owner and operational manager of Platsand Produce is very diverse, with his responsibilities ranging from marketing, crop scheduling and various administration tasks.

For this crop farmer, there was no denying his love for the industry as he grew up loving the farm and everything that had to do with it.

According to Van Rooi, farming is one of the things where you don't necessarily need a tertiary degree to be successful, but having one does help you minimise learning through trial and error.

“Due to the advancement of technology, farmers don’t really need tertiary education but with that said, you will make a lot of unnecessary mistakes without that tertiary background. To avoid constantly having to learn from trial and error, do research on different agricultural programmes and see which one best fits your vision," he advised.

He added that he would advise anyone aspiring to make a living off farming to take up a training course or get a degree or diploma in the field to avoid making so many mistakes as these mistakes are very costly. “Having that educational background on things like pest control can save you so much money."

He further noted that to be a crop farmer, you need to have a certain set of skills and character traits. One such character trait is to have perseverance, because being a crop farmer means making mistakes and learning from them. "You need to learn not to give up when things don't go according to plan the first time around," he said.

Meanwhile, it's important to have problem-solving skills because things almost never go according to plan and you will have to think on your feet, he noted.

Another crucial skill to have is time management and organisational skills. “Be very organised because everything in crop farming works with a time limit,” Van Rooi said.

He went on to add that farming is often associated with being an option for retirement, but said this should be debunked because the opportunities that lie within the farming industry are endless.