October’s hero: Johan Kriel
Johan Kriel is a well-known face in agricultural circles and to say that he has a heart for agriculture, is an understatement. After having to sell their family farm in the Clocolan area he found another way to continue his passion for agriculture. He joined the Grain SA team and embarked on a journey to help beginner and developing farmers turn their dreams into reality.
In an interview for SA Graan/Grain in 2020, Johan said the following about his career: ‘If I could have my life over, I would have preferred to keep on farming, but after my time at Grain SA I would also want to work with beginner farmers again. I spent my days making a difference in people’s lives and it was wonderful. It grew from being just a job into my passion.’
Johan began mentoring developing farmers in the Free State region as a regional development manager. In 2015 his path crossed with the young Dieketseng Mahlelehlele (now 38) from Brandfort in the western Free State. He soon saw that she had the potential to develop into a commercial farmer as she was determined to improve her knowledge about crop production.
Now Dieketseng wants to honour ntate Johan (as he is fondly called by many farmers) by nominating him as her hero because he has helped her become the farmer she is today. This year this passionate young farmer who tried her hand at crop farming for the first time, was a finalist in the Potential Commercial Farmer of the Year category. She believes that her mentor and hero played a huge role in this achievement. To her it is clear that he can take a beginner farmer with little knowledge and turn them into a top producer.
‘Ntate Johan is passionate and dedicated about what he does. To him mentoring farmers is not a job, it’s his life. He does it whole-heartedly and makes sure we really understand everything he explains. He is 100% committed to each one of his mentees and always willing to listen and help – at any time.’
Dieketseng listed other farmers who were mentored by Johan with whom she has had contact. ‘It is clear that he is respected amongst all of them. Every farmer he has mentored speaks highly of him with much admiration and respect.’
‘He is not only my mentor but has become part of our family. I see him as my white father,’ she adds with a smile. ‘He has motivated and “pushed” me to become more, reach higher, dream bigger. He is amazing and I wish I could give him the world for opening the agricultural realm to me. Thank you, ntate Johan, not just for what you do, but for who you are!’
Johan once described a mentor as a father, a grandfather, a shoulder to cry on. Ntate Johan or oom Kriel was however much more than this. As a mentor he became a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and someone who would push his mentees, like Dieketseng, in the right direction so that they could reach their full potential.
