CHESTER FISCH WINS AGT 2024

Chester Fisch made everyone feel the music when he won Agri’s Got Talent 2024 (AGT 2024) on Friday night, 11 October, at Dawn Mountains, Simondium, with the famous Michael Jackson hit “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

It was not only Fisch’s extraordinary vocal abilities that impressed, his dancing skills and showmanship all contributed to making Fisch a worthy winner of Agri’s Got Talent 2024.

His second song, the politically inspired “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke (1964), couldn’t be more apt in speaking to the heart and soul of South Africa’s agricultural community.

Fisch, a seasonal worker in the wine industry from Mountain Ridge, Wolseley, said earlier in an interview with Food for Mzansi that he believed in the future of agriculture, “because the world was built on it, and the world cannot survive without it.”

“People need to eat and that is why farming is important. I want to contribute towards promoting agriculture, especially amongst the youth.”

Beyond winemaking, Fisch is equally passionate about music. By winning AGT 2024 he hopes to advance his music career and wants to help young artists grow and develop their talent.

Fish was encouraged by his partner, Felicity, to enter AGT. Although gospel as a genre is his first love, he also excels in R&B and pop. “I am versatile and would like to grow in all areas when it comes to music.”

For Fisch, participating in AGT was not about winning, but learning and growing as an artist.

“In every competition, there are no winners or losers. We are all learners,” he said.

Chantel Boonzaaier (left), from DGB (Ltd) Franschhoek, took second place, and Sandile Mathebula (right), Macdaring Farm, Nelspruit, came third.

The AGT judges said the 2024 competition was the toughest one to date, with a very small scoring margin separating the first three contestants.

Lungelo Sithole, from KMI Farming in Nelspruit, won the prize for the best singer in an indigenous language, awarded by the Afrikaans Language Council (Afrikaanse Taalraad/ATR). Her version of Zahara’s emotional, Xa bendingena Mama, was a powerhouse performance second to none. The lyrics, in isiXhosa, are a tribute to Zahara’s mother who passed away.

Dr Conrad Steenkamp, CEO of the ATR said that AGT is a unique project that gives people from the agricultural sector a chance to sing in their mother tongue. “In South Africa we have several indigenous languages to be proud of, Afrikaans being one of them. We pass on our language to our children through singing. It is not just about Afrikaans, it is about encouraging and supporting the arts in the mother tongue.”

Thea van Zyl, Agri’s Got Talent project coordinator, said the project is more than a singing competition, it is also about skills development. Skills the contestants take back to their homes, farms and communities. It is about building bridges and inspiring talented agricultural workers to reach for their dreams. Agri workers are the backbone of the fruit and wine industries, the unsung heroes, and AGT gives them a platform to be heard.”

AGT was started in 2013 by Hortgro, the South African deciduous fruit industry organisation. This was the 11th year of the project, which is sponsored by Hortgro, Citrus Growers’ Association, South African Table Grape Industry, SA Wine and the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.

The project is also supported by FruitFly Africa, BerriesZA and Culdevco.

For more information about AGT, follow us on social media and visit our website, or contact Thea at info@agrisgottalent.com.

Download the press release with the Afrikaans version here: AGT Press release Chester wins AGT 2024_FINAL