Agriculture must grow to feed SA

SA’s agricultural sector offers abundant opportunities for young people to become involved in the mainstream economy.

Johannesburg - The South African agricultural sector, currently worth about R360 billion, offers abundant opportunities for young people to become involved in the mainstream economy.

Speaking recently on the television series Nation in Conversation, Senwes executive director Joe Maswanganyi said the world’s population was growing, and people had to eat. Agriculture is crucial. It is a highly challenging industry, but challenges stimulate growth, and with growth come opportunities.

The Nation in Conversation topics focused on the development of new farmers and mentorship programmes.

“Young people must know that agriculture is big business,” said Harvest Time managing director Marion Shikwinya.

She pointed out that farming is not just about waking up early, emphasising that there are various career opportunities in food production.

With real momentum in the emerging farming industry picking up in 2012, Harvest Time Investment was set up as a new company to accommodate an enterprise development initiative involving classroom training followed by practical demonstrations on the farm.

The mentorship programme provides a mentor to assist the farmer with his business, coupled with technical advice by an agronomist who guides the farmer through the farming cycle with good farming practices.

Access to funding is facilitated through a set of mechanisms put in place to mitigate risks. Shikwinya lists the most critical challenges that emerging farmers face as being a lack of skills, technical guidance and access to funding.

Maswanganyi explained that Senwes followed the same approach as Harvest Time. The developing farmer sector is important from the perspective of the National Transformation Imperative, getting the majority of the people involved in the mainstream economy, creating employment opportunities and building new businesses.

Senwes has established credit policies that make it easier for the farmer to obtain financing.

To ensure that their risks are mitigated as well, Senwes provides technical support to make sure that farmers do the right thing at the right time, for example use the correct crop in the right type of soil, with the correct time cycle for their crops so that they get a better yield.

Access to the crop off-taker is another critical factor and a technical process, in which Senwes also provides assistance.

In the overall development and mentorship programme there has been a lot of success, says Shikwinya. She refers to a case study in Mpumalanga where a female farmer runs a profitable farming enterprise and provides employment for others.

Maswanganyi agreed that there were many success stories in the emerging farming sector. He mentioned a group of farmers in Vereeniging that lease ground from the government and are doing well.

The farmers have not only managed to repay all their facilities through the various cycles, but also bank some good profits.

According to Maswanganyi, an increasing number of farmers are growing as business people, extending their production, and also employing more and more people in the farming sector. They are moving from being developing farmers to becoming commercial farmers.

“The important aspects are that the farmer is able to farm, that he is able to repay his debts, that he is making a profit, and that he is able to farm sustainably from year to year,” she said.

“Senwes will continue to look for innovative and integrated solutions to assist the emerging farmer to run his business in a profitable and sustainable way.”

Looking to the future, Shikwinya believes the effects of climate change will necessitate research and development initiatives, innovation, and less reliance on non-renewable water and electricity resources.

Public-private partnerships can promote better co-ordination and collaboration between all the stakeholders in the value chain to overcome the challenges faced by the commercial farmer of the future.

Political analyst and writer Max du Preez pointed out that South Africa had a rich history of successful black farmers in South Africa.

Du Preez said close, loyal relationships between farmers and their workers – with the farmer assuming responsibility for looking after the education of the children of his workers – could boost stability and security in South Africa.

According to Du Preez, transfer of communal land to private ownership will be the big issue in the next five years. Agriculture will have to accommodate the people who are bound to be retrenched in the mining, steel and manufacturing sectors; this if we are to avoid famine and immeasurable hardship.

“Agriculture is the only thing we really have to enable people to look after themselves and their families,” he said.

“The emotion factor in agriculture has to be balanced with economic realities, but it has to happen quickly. There is no time left for ideological debate and emotion.”

Where to get information on agriculture:

* To find out more about career and study opportunities in agriculture, visit the websites of universities, colleges and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (www.daff.gov.za).

* You can also go to the websites of organisations like: Afgri (agricultural services and processing company, www.afgri.co.za); Senwes (agri-business, www.senwes.co.za); and Hinterland (agricultural retail company, www.hinterland.co.za).

* Nation in Conversation is a 13-part dialogue series broadcast on Business Day Television, Soweto TV and KykNet between September and December. Discussions focus on bringing important matters in the agricultural sector to the attention of a wider audience, bearing in mind that agriculture impacts on the nation’s well-being – our ability to access quality and affordable food. You can also view the series on YouTube.

THE STAR