Nthabiseng Malesa, Geologist.
Food security is often discussed in national terms, but its reality is felt most directly at household level. It is about whether families can consistently access enough affordable and nutritious food, not only in periods of stability but every day.
In South Africa, this challenge remains significant. According to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey, more than one in five households experience some form of food insecurity. While the country produces enough food overall, access remains uneven, shaped by income levels, distribution systems and broader economic conditions.
In provinces such as Limpopo, agriculture remains a vital part of livelihoods and local economies. The region is known for its strong farming activity, from citrus production in the Vhembe district to vegetables and maize grown across Mopani and surrounding areas. However, even in productive agricultural regions, food security depends on more than production alone. It depends on soil health, inputs such as fertiliser, infrastructure and the technical systems that support farming at scale.
Behind these systems is a value chain that is often invisible to the public, but essential to how food is produced and distributed.
One part of that chain in Limpopo begins in Phalaborwa, where phosphate rock is mined and processed into fertiliser inputs used by farmers across South Africa and beyond. Phosphate is one of the three essential nutrients required for plant growth, alongside nitrogen and potassium. Without it, agricultural yields would be significantly reduced, placing additional pressure on food systems already under strain.
Within this environment, a new generation of young professionals in Limpopo is helping to keep these systems running.
This pipeline is strengthened through partnerships with local institutions such as Mopani South East TVET College and AgriColleges, where technical training, workplace readiness and practical exposure help bridge the gap between classroom learning and industrial environments. These partnerships ensure that young people are not only trained in theory but are prepared for real operational roles within industrial and agricultural systems.
Through a graduate development programme in the region, young engineers, scientists and specialists are stepping into roles that connect directly to both industrial production and agricultural productivity. Their work spans mining, engineering, environmental management, technical improvement and corporate support functions.
While their disciplines differ, their work is connected through one system: ensuring that mineral resources are responsibly extracted, processed and converted into products that support agricultural production and food security.
From identifying and mapping ore bodies in Phalaborwa, to maintaining critical plant equipment, to ensuring environmental compliance, to improving operational efficiency, and communicating the role of the business to stakeholders, each function contributes to a wider chain that supports food systems in South Africa.
As part of Youth Month, we asked them to reflect on their work and what food security means in practice.
Q: When you hear “food security”, what does it mean to you in practice? Nthabiseng Malesa (Geology): To me, food security in practice means the efficient mining and processing of phosphate ore to produce fertilisers that support agricultural productivity and help secure food supply locally and globally.
Q: Did you expect your work to connect directly to food security? How does it? Rivasha Joseph (Environment and Quality): Yes. My role ensures compliance with environmental regulations. If operations are not compliant, production can be interrupted, which directly affects the supply of fertiliser to farmers and ultimately impacts food production.
Q: What kind of career are you building for yourself in this space? Rector Valoi (Mechanical Engineering): I am building a career in maintenance and reliability engineering, focusing on equipment performance, plant efficiency and safe operations within an industrial environment.
Q: Where do you see yourself in the next five years? Mpho Ramokgopa (Corporate Affairs): I see myself growing within the mining industry, gaining broader experience across different areas of the business and contributing to long-term growth and sustainability.
Q: What has been your biggest learning curve so far? Ndivhuho Kone (Technical and Continuous Improvement): Understanding how interconnected the plant is. Every process affects another, and decisions must consider production, safety, environmental impact and operational efficiency together, not in isolation.
This Youth Month feature highlights something often overlooked in Limpopo’s economic landscape and the connection between industrial capability and food security.
It is not only farms that feed communities. It is also the systems, skills and young professionals working behind the scenes to keep those farms supplied with the inputs they need.
And increasingly, in Limpopo, that work is being carried forward by a new generation building their careers at the intersection of industry, agriculture and food systems.
About Foskor: Foskor is a phosphorus mining and processing operation that produces phosphates for South Africa’s agricultural sector and for export to countries around the world. It is the only vertically integrated producer of phosphate ore, phosphoric acid and granular fertiliser in the country, and is a key enabler of food security in South Africa and around the world.
The company mines and beneficiates phosphate-bearing rock at Phalaborwa in Limpopo, after which it is transported by rail to a dedicated production facility in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal.
Foskor is South Africa’s leading supplier of granular fertilisers, the core ingredient in nitrogen, phosphate and potassium fertiliser products known as NPKs. It is also a commercial producer of phosphoric and sulphuric acids and magnetite (a by-product of the phosphate beneficiation process), which are sold both locally and abroad.
The company is ISO 9001 certified for Quality Management, ISO 14001 certified for Environmental Management, OHSAS 18001 certified for Occupational Health and Safety Management and SANS 16001 certified for HIV/AIDS Management.
Its corporate social investment focus is on empowering disadvantaged communities to become self-sufficient through food production and on funding agricultural and related education for young people in these communities.
Rector Valoi, Mechanical Engineer.
Rivasha Joseph, Environment and Quality Specialist.
Ndivhuho Kone, Technical and Continuous Improvement.
Mpho Ramokgopa, Corporate Affairs.