Agriculture Bursaries
Bursaries for South African students pursuing studies in agriculture, agribusiness, horticulture, food technology, veterinary studies and related fields. We're researching more agriculture funders - check back as we add Land Bank, AFGRI, AgriSETA, Woolworths Farming and more.
14 agriculture bursaries
- Agriculture Closes 15 Sept 2026
AgriSETA Bursary Programme
AgriSETA (Agricultural Sector Education and Training Authority)
The AgriSETA Bursary supports South African students studying agriculture-related qualifications at NQF Level 6 and above, with a focus on scarce and critical skills across the agricultural value chain. Administered directly by AgriSETA (and via its accredited service providers and employers), it funds tuition, textbooks, accommodation and a stipend to help build the country's agricultural skills base.
Up to ~R39,750/year (undergraduate) or ~R63,600/year (postgraduate), covering tuition, textbooks, accommodation and/or stipendView details → - Agriculture Closed (20 Feb 2026)
AgTech@NWK Bursary
NWK Limited (AgTech@NWK division, administered in-house by AgTech@NWK, Lichtenburg; contact: Rachel du Preez)
The AgTech@NWK Bursary supports South African students completing a BSc Agriculture Honours degree, offering financial assistance for the Honours study year together with paid practical training at the AgTech@NWK precision-farming facility in Lichtenburg during university breaks. Run by NWK Limited (founded 1909) through its agri-technology division, the programme gives bursars real-world industry exposure, mentorship and the prospect of permanent employment within the NWK Group after graduation. It is aimed at honours-level students with a genuine passion for and commitment to a career in agriculture.
Undisclosed monetary amount covering financial/tuition support for the BSc Agriculture Honours study year, plus paid practical training during university breaksView details → - Agriculture Closes 30 Dec 2026
Beefmaster Group Bursary Programme
Beefmaster Group
The Beefmaster Group Bursary supports final-year South African students completing agriculture degrees in animal science, animal production and agricultural economics. It is a full bursary covering tuition, accommodation, books and related study costs for students with a genuine passion for the South African agricultural sector.
Full bursary covering tuition, accommodation, books and related study costs for the academic yearView details → - Agriculture Closes 15 Sept 2026
Citrus Academy Bursary Fund
Citrus Academy (Citrus Growers' Association of Southern Africa)
The Citrus Academy Bursary Fund supports students pursuing citrus and agriculture-related qualifications at accredited South African tertiary institutions, with a view to building a career in the citrus industry. Founded in 2006, it is regarded as the biggest private bursary fund in primary agriculture in South Africa and is open to citizens of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Eswatini who have completed at least their first year of study.
Partial funding (value depends on study-related costs covered): tuition, books, accommodation and mealsView details → - Agriculture Closes 30 Sept 2026
Department of Agriculture Bursary
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
The Department of Agriculture Bursary is a full-funding undergraduate bursary for South African students pursuing agriculture-related qualifications - including agriculture, food technology, veterinary studies, plant science, soil science and related fields.
Full tuition + accommodation + meals + study materials + monthly allowanceView details → - Agriculture Closes 15 Aug 2026
Hortgro Bursary Programme
Hortgro (South African deciduous fruit industry)
The Hortgro Bursary supports South African students entering the deciduous fruit industry - funding studies in horticulture, plant pathology, soil and water science, entomology, agricultural economics and related research and technical fields.
Tuition (capped) + on-campus accommodation + prescribed books (capped)View details → - Agriculture Closes 30 Sept 2026
Maize Trust Bursary Scheme
The Maize Trust (administered by Agri Manage Solutions (Pty) Ltd, in partnership with Grain SA)
The Maize Trust Bursary Scheme funds postgraduate research that benefits the South African maize industry, supporting MSc (by dissertation) and PhD (doctoral research) students at recognised South African universities. The Maize Trust is a statutory levy-based body established in 1998 to advance maize-industry research and development, and the scheme is administered by Agri Manage Solutions in partnership with Grain SA. Funding covers two years for a Master's and three years for a Doctoral degree.
MSc/Master's by dissertation: R99,750 per annum for two years. PhD/Doctoral research: R131,250 per annum for three years.View details → - Agriculture Closed (31 Oct 2025)
Potatoes South Africa (PSA) Bursary
Potato Industry Development Trust (PIDT) (administered by Potatoes South Africa)
The Potatoes South Africa (PSA) Bursary, funded by the Potato Industry Development Trust (PIDT), supports South African students pursuing agriculture-related studies relevant to the potato industry. It is open to both undergraduate students entering their second year or higher and postgraduate (Honours, Masters, PhD) students with a potato-related research focus. Recipients enter into a work-back commitment to serve a potato-industry-related organisation after graduating.
Amount not publicly published. Covers full-time undergraduate or postgraduate agricultural study relevant to the potato industry, subject to a work-back obligation equal to the bursary duration.View details → - Agriculture Closed (31 Mar 2026)
SANA Bursary
South African Nursery Association (SANA)
The SANA Bursary is offered by the South African Nursery Association to students studying towards a Horticulture or Landscaping qualification at an accredited South African tertiary institution. It covers tuition fees for the current academic year and is aimed at students who have already completed their first year of study with a strong academic record. The bursary is administered directly by SANA and is awarded annually.
Tuition fees for the current academic year (paid to the institution)View details → - Agriculture Closed (15 Jan 2026)
SATI Bursary Programme
South African Table Grape Industry (SATI/SATGI), Paarl - administered directly via its Submittable portal
The SATI Bursary Programme funds South African students studying towards qualifications relevant to the table grape industry and its value chain - from viticulture and horticulture to agricultural economics, food science and supply chain disciplines. Offered as full, partial or work-back bursaries, it gives preference to previously disadvantaged individuals, land reform beneficiaries, and farmworkers and their children already involved in the industry.
Not a fixed amount - offered as full, partial or work-back bursaries (tuition, study materials, accommodation and living expenses)View details → - Agriculture Closes 31 Jul 2026
Senwes Graduate Programme
Senwes
Senwes, one of South Africa's largest agricultural businesses, runs a graduate programme for recent graduates and final-year students with a relevant B-degree. The placement is based in Klerksdorp, North West, and gives graduates structured exposure to grain handling, agri-financial services, agri-inputs and supply chain operations across the Senwes group.
Paid graduate placementView details → - Agriculture Closed (21 Nov 2025)
SITFE Bursary Programme
Sugar Industry Trust Fund for Education (SITFE) (administered by the South African Sugar Association)
The SITFE Bursary Programme provides full bursaries to South African students from sugarcane-growing provinces (KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga) who are studying Agriculture. Established in 1965 and administered by the South African Sugar Association, the fund awards up to 41 full bursaries each year, with preference given to children of sugarcane farmworkers and disadvantaged first-year students from the "missing middle".
Full bursary covering the cost of study (exact monetary value not published)View details → - Agriculture Closed (31 Oct 2025)
South Africa Wine Bursary Programme
South Africa Wine NPC (administered in-house by the People Development team)
The South Africa Wine Bursary Programme funds South African students pursuing scarce and critical-skills qualifications for the wine industry - including viticulture and oenology, cellar technology, agricultural economics and microbiology. It covers full tuition fees and offers hands-on industry exposure, with graduates able to apply for a one-year practical placement at a South Africa Wine member.
Full tuition fee coverage for the qualification (no fixed figure publicly specified)View details → - Agriculture Closed (30 Sept 2025)
VKB Group Bursary Programme
VKB Group (administered in-house, contact: Ariska du Plessis)
VKB Group, a leading South African agricultural company established in 1919, offers bursaries to high-performing students studying full-time towards an approved undergraduate qualification at a recognised South African tertiary institution. The programme funds fields ranging from BSc Agriculture and Agricultural Economics to Chartered Accountancy, Data Science and Logistics, and includes required vacation work at a VKB regional head office with the prospect of full-time employment after graduation.
Tuition and study-related costs (value not published)View details →
Agriculture bursaries in South Africa - what to know
Government vs corporate funding
The largest single funder of agriculture students in South Africa is the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. It runs an annual full-funding bursary for agriculture-related undergraduate qualifications with a September deadline.
Industry-specific bursaries
Many bursaries are linked to a specific commodity or sector - Hortgro for deciduous fruit, AgriSETA for skills development in primary agriculture, AFGRI for agribusiness, and the Department's bursary for the broader agricultural economy.
Application timing
Most agriculture bursaries close between July and September of the year before studies begin. Apply early - many funders process applications on a first-come, first-served basis.