No. The programmes offered by the 11 Colleges of Agriculture are divided into two sub - programmes, namely Higher Education (HET) providing agricultural training from NQF level 5 to 7, and formal and non-formal training on NQF level 1 to 4 (except for Taung College of Agriculture and Potchefstroom College of Agriculture where farmer training is done at Kgora Training Centre). The NQF Level 1 to 4 programmes have emphasis on farmer training i.e. smallholder, subsistence and commercial farmers, and in most cases, they collaborate with Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
The Colleges of Agriculture (CoAs) through the Provincial Departments of Agriculture (PDAs) have existing working relationship with the ARC, mostly though signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and some of the Colleges also host the ARC within their premises. The relationship allows the two parties to collaborate in offering short courses either through sharing of premises or expertise. Farmers only travel to ARC premises in instances where a specific or specialised infrastructure is needed for practical training.