At 31 Rupert Richter is the youngest non-executive director in the history of NWK, one of the biggest agricultural services businesses in the North West Province.

In September 2015 he was elected to serve on the board of directors of NWK, which is based in Lichtenburg and has 100-year-old roots and a presence in Botswana and Zambia.

 

Farming is in Rupert's blood and he is happiest when farming on Klippan, a farm in the Lichtenburg district. “You have to be passionate about what you are doing, or it becomes really difficult to get up early on a Monday morning to go to work,” he chats.

 

To him, work is "where you breathe the clean, fresh air" and watch things grow. On Klippan he farms with irrigation maize and wheat, dry-land maize and commercial cattle.

 

Safety net for a tough environment

 

Before he could call himself a farmer, though, Dad Richter said that he should earn a qualification in a field other than farming. “That way I would have something to fall back on; agriculture is a tough environment.”

He completed his mechanical engineering studies in 2006 and says that he misses the student-village vibe of Potchefstroom.

 

“I don't think any other campus can compare with the student environment of the Potchefstroom Campus. It was a special experience.” But, he is quick to add, engineering students don't have much time for distractions.

 

After completing his studies, he started his career as an engineer and completed his master's degree part time while working. But farming kept tugging at his heart strings and it wasn't long before he gave up a profitable career in engineering to follow his passion.

 

A useful background

 

His studies are proving very useful on the farm. “Engineering changed the way I think and taught me a different approach to problems. In farming, every day poses challenges, forcing you to try new things all the time,” he says.

 

Rupert has been interested in doing new things since childhood. “I grew up with a dad who repaired everything himself. I build my own implements on the farm and have my own irrigation system. My studies opened the door to effectiveness – I am not trying to reinvent the wheel, I just want to improve upon what already exists.”

 

So many opportunities

 

Rupert speaks with authority and his passion for farming comes across clearly when he speaks. He is involved in organised agriculture because agriculture is "such a difficult industry to gain entry to, but also one that offers so many opportunities, even for an entrepreneur”.

 

He wants to stay in touch with the organised agricultural community and says that the young farmers making a start in the industry hold the promise of a healthy future for agriculture.