An agri dream realised

Youngest member of the Western Cape Prestige Agri Workers Prestige Forum

by Jacqueline Cupido

AAt the age of 37, Nigel Klaasen was announced as the 2022 Western Cape Prestige Agri Worker as well as the youngest member to serve on the Prestige Forum of the Western Cape MEC for Agriculture, Dr Ivan Meyer.

At the Western Cape Provincial Agri Awards in November 2022, hosted at the Grand West Casino and Entertainment World, Nigel Klaasen was also the second winner from the Overberg to receive this award. In 2016 Anton Alexander from the farm Ou Werf in the Vyeboom, Villiersdorp area also received this award.

find inner peace after his mother was raped and murdered on a farm in 2004. Receiving this award was not only an emotional experience for Nigel but also receiving a vision that something big will happen in his life and that he will get opportunities to give back to his community.

Nigel received several prizes from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture for this award as well as a R20 000 gift voucher from Shoprite, the main sponsor.

As a son of the soil and green valleys of Grabouw in the Overberg, Nigel always knew that this is the place to be but also to

His mother was his rock and provider who ensured that he could complete his primary and high school education in Grabouw. The long walk between home and school and the long hours waiting for a school bus on rainy days, inspired Nigel to work hard and reach for his dreams. Learners from the farms who attended the high school in the town of Grabouw were often labelled as the “farm children” who will only end up working on a farm but for Nigel it was about farming as a “boer”. His father, Merwin Klaasen, also worked as a production foreman on the farm and inspired Nigel to reach for his dream.

Nigel proved everybody wrong when he started working as a general worker on the Monteith farm in Grabouw in 2013 and quickly rose through all the ranks. This afforded him valuable experience as tractor driver, sprayer operator, team leader, forklift driver, irrigation assistant as well as managerial duties in less than eight years.

Nigel is responsible for 60ha of the farm for apple and pear production, which includes the fertilisers and spray, irrigation, people management, as well as all operating costs and productivity actions.

The Western Cape Prestige Agri Awards inspired him to achieve greater heights in agriculture but also to give back to his community. Arriving on the farm the day after he received this award, he realised that he is now in a better position to make a difference in the lives of other young people on the farms.

Yvette Kayser, Nigel’s partner, shared this emotional moment with him when he was announced as the 2022 Provincial Winner for the Western Cape Prestige Agri Awards. She is also involved in the agricultural sector and shares in his dream and passion to inspire young people to become involved in agriculture and to follow their dreams.

Nigel acknowledges the impact and role of farm schools and teachers in his personal development. He is already planning youth development programmes in collaboration with the youth coordinator of Monteith farm and financially contributed towards a wheelchair for a disabled person in Grabouw. Inspired by the Youth for the Youth AP