On Thursday, 16 October 2025, small scale sheep farmers from Thaba Nchu who are affiliated with the African Farmer’s Association of South Africa (AFASA) collaborated with the Barolong Boo-Seleka Traditional Council to conduct a workshop and share knowledge on Wool Classification to a group total of 31 learners who are part of the on-going Agri Seta training program in Thaba Nchu.

The aim of the workshop was to create awareness by providing a hands-on practical experience to expose the learners to one of the many opportunities that can be explored within the agriculture space, in this case how to identify the different types of fibres and what goes into the process of sorting the different components during the wool classification.

The AFASA farmers expressed a keen interest to collaborate with the various stakeholders such as the Department of Agriculture, Barolong Boo-Seleka Traditional Council, Municipalities (to name a few), to support initiatives that pertain to agricultural programs that improves the livelihood of rural communities in an effort to empower and upskill the youth and women groups as they largely makeup the society of Thaba Nchu.

The farmers also highlighted the need for proper identification of programs and strategic execution thereof, with of all stakeholders’ involvement to grow the economy of Thaba Nchu and Mangaung at large, by tapping into the one resource that can alleviate poverty and create employment opportunities, and that is agriculture.