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THE
GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY
OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
ႅႈ
Executive planning 1995
A planning session for the NOPO Executive was presented in October 1995. The
opportunity was also used to strengthen relationships with role-players in the
industry and assess matters that had to be dealt with in the short to medium term.
The new Marketing Act was of great interest to producers and they requested
more information on the impact of deregulation, the property rights of reserve
funds and assets managed by the Oilseeds Board on behalf of the industry, and
possible statutory measures.
An exploratory discussion took place between the NOPO management committee
and the Executive Committee of the Oilseeds Board on 21 November 1995. At this
meeting the principle was tested that reserves and assets of the board be hedged
by a trust in order to fund actions in the interest of the oilseeds industry.
The Executive’s planning was also used to reflect on trade agreements and a tariff
policy to protect local producers against subsidised products. Finally, the focus fell
on royalties from research to support research projects.
NOPO information days
In order to introduce NOPO to oilseeds producers, area management meetings
were combined with information days during 1995. Organisational matters as
well as the most recent technology, research results and market information were
presented to producers. The information days were presented in close co-operation
the research team of the ARC-OPS and the various agribusinesses.
NOPO logo
The Executive replaced the logo of the National Oilseeds Committee with NOPO’s
own logo in 1995.
1996: Marketing Act and deregulation
The Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (Act 47 of 1996) was approved by
parliament in the second semester of 1996, for commencement on 1 January 1997.
In the run-up to the implementation of the new Marketing Act in 1996 NOPO held
discussions with various policymakers in order to inform them first hand of the
activities of NOPO. These included talks with the retiring Minister of Agriculture,
Dr Kraai van Niekerk, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture,
Ms Janet Love, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee, Dr Sam Motsonjane,
the leader of the PAC, Mr Clarence Makwetu, the spokesperson on agriculture
of the National Party, Dr EA Schoeman, and Mr Brendon Bailey of the LAPC
(adviser to the new Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Mr Derek Hanekom).
Discussions about the deregulation process were also held with AFMA and the
Oil Pressers Association.
The new Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (Act 47 of 1996) provided that
statutory control boards had to be phased out. It further provided that the
industry had to submit a business plan to the Minister and the Marketing Council
with recommendations on the way in which the board concerned would
manage the conclusion of its activities. Requests for statutory measures also
had to be motivated in the business plan. Proposals for the restructuring of the
functions of the board had to be supported by consensus restructuring from
the industry.
Hanekom, the new Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, announced that the
new National Marketing Council would meet for the first time on 6 January 1997.
This implied that the business plan for the oilseeds industry had to be submitted to
the Marketing Council by the first week of February 1997.
This was the end of an era in which producers with a guaranteed majority vote in
the various boards could direct industry decisions, as the process of deregulation
had to be handled through consensus decisions.
NOPO’s own logo, in use since 1995. The
oil droplet symbolised the factor (oil),
which oilseeds have in common.