The Citrus Academy, the skills-development arm of South Africa’s citrus industry, runs a bursary fund for students who plan to work on citrus farms, in packhouses or in the businesses around them. The fund has existed in its current form since the start of 2006. Its rule is simple to remember: applications close on 15 September of the year before you want funding. For 2027 study, that date was 15 September 2026, so the round has closed.
Second-year students and up, from three countries
Citizens of South Africa, Eswatini (Swaziland) and Zimbabwe can apply if they study an agriculture-related course at a recognised university, college or university of technology in South Africa. The Citrus Academy does not fund first-year students: support starts from the second year of study. The fund awards bursaries in three categories: undergraduate study, postgraduate study and BEE bursary support.
Any agricultural course linked to citrus production counts, and so do courses that serve the wider industry, such as logistics or entomology. For a purely agricultural qualification, the Academy prefers institutions that teach citrus production as a subject.
The seven things the selection panel scores
The Citrus Academy rates each application on:
- previously disadvantaged status
- how well the field of study fits the industry
- academic performance
- financial need
- a background connected to the citrus industry
- gender, with women preferred
- disability
A student who grew up on or near a citrus farm, or whose family works in the industry, should say so clearly in the application.
What the fund pays, and what it asks back
The bursary can cover tuition fees, on-campus accommodation, books and stationery, and research costs for postgraduate projects. In return, Bursary Fund students must:
- keep at least a D-average and not fail any main subject outright;
- do at least four weeks of vacation work a year if they are undergraduate, certificate or diploma students;
- work in the citrus industry after qualifying for at least as long as the fund supported them.
A student who breaks these conditions must pay the bursary money back. The Citrus Academy is not an employer and offers no internships of its own, but it helps funded students find vacation work and, where a qualification needs experiential training, places them with a citrus business and a mentor.
Applications run through Citrus Communities
The Citrus Academy moved its bursary applications off its main website. To apply, register on Citrus Communities, the Citrus Academy’s online platform, and join the Student Community, which gives access to the Bursary Fund application. Register well before 15 September, because the form is only visible once you are a member.
The Academy tells only successful applicants, and it does so before the middle of December. If you applied by 15 September 2026 and have no news by mid-December 2026, your application was not successful this time.
The Justin Chadwick bursary for agricultural economists
The Citrus Academy also administers a separate award for final-year students in agricultural economics, at undergraduate or postgraduate level, at accredited South African universities. The holder becomes a member of the Citrus Student Community and, after finishing, must complete a one-year internship at the Citrus Growers’ Association. Its last advertised closing date was 15 September 2025; the Academy’s site did not show a 2026 date before it went offline.
Reaching the Citrus Academy
General questions go to learnmore@citrusacademy.org.za, and problems with the Citrus Communities site to candice@citrusacademy.org.za. The Academy’s phone line, 031 765 3410, is staffed from 08:30 to 16:30.
Agriculture students can also look at the Department of Agriculture bursary, the fruit industry’s Hortgro bursary, and our science bursaries hub.