If you are interested in getting involved in rural issues, the environment and enjoy advising others then a career as an Agriculture Consultant could be for you.
Career Overview
Agriculture Consultants are also known as Agriculture Advisors and they have a number of clients who they offer their professional opinions to. The main responsibility of an Agriculture Consultant is to ensure that their clients’ businesses are operating smoothly and efficiently. Their clients could include: farmers, conservation organisations and landowners. The areas of consultancy could be either technical or business related.
Required School Subjects
If you would like to study towards a degree, you will need to have taken the following subjects:
- Mathematics
- Phyical Science
- Life Sciences
Recommended subjects:
- Agricultural Science
- Agricultural Management Practices
Please note: some institutions will accept Mathematical Literacy if you intend to study towards a diploma.
Institution and APS
The following institutions are highly recommended for studies in Agriculture:
- University of Pretoria (UP) – APS of 30
- North West University (NWU) – APS of 28
- Cape Penninsula University of Technology (CPUT) – APS of 26 (with Pure Mathematics) and 28 (with Mathematical Literacy)
Required Qualification/s
In order to qualify as an Agriculture Consultant, you will need to have a formal qualification behind your name. This could be in the form of a degree or diploma. In most cases, the qualification will take a total of 3 to 4 years to complete. You can opt to study a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management, a Bachelor of Commerce in Agricultural Economics and Risk Management as well or a Diploma in Agriculture. Whether you choose to go down the technical or business route, you will develop a firm understanding of the agriculture industry as well as successful management practices.
Required Skills
You will need to have the following skills to succeed as an Agriculture Consultant:
- communication skills
- valid drivers license
- analytical skills with the ability to break down technical findings
- ability to manage budgets
- advisory and negotiation skills
Where you can work
As an Agriculture Consultant, you could find yourself working for a consulting firm. Agribusiness is an established area of consultancy and there are a variety of consultancy firms that you could choose to work for. In this type of environment, there are often opportunities to travel overseas for Agriculture conferences. There is also the possibility of working for non-profit organisations, for government, property firms or farming co-operatives. Alternatively, once you’ve etablished yourself, you could build your own consultancy or work as a freelancer in this industry.
Working Hours
Your working hours will depend on the season as well as your clients. In general, you will work a 9am – 5pm day with the possibility of meeting with clients outside these hours during busy periods.
Expected Salary
As an Agriculture Consultant, your salary can vary depending on your clients and where you work. In general, the annual average salary for an Agriculture Consultant in South Africa is R468 859 with an hourly rate of R225.
What to expect
Here are a few things you can expect from a career as an Agriculture Consultant:
- the environment that you work in will usually be split between indoors and outdoors. Depending on the nature of your consultancy, you might spend slighty more time either inside or outside.
- if you’ve established your own consultancy or work as a freelancer, working from home is common.
- you may spend quite a bit of time driving to meet with various clients.
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