A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

The

grain and oilseed industry

of south africa – A journey through time

GRAiN SA

The founding and establishment of

From the beginning, NAMPO developed the establishment of

co-operation between all the producer organisations in the

grain and oilseed industries in South Africa as one of its objec-

tives. In the course of time it took the initiative in starting dis-

cussions in this regard with the other producer organisations.

DISCUSSIONS ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE

GRAIN PRODUCERS ORGANISATION (GPO) – 1999/2000

Co-operation was regarded as important in order to address in an organised and co-

ordinated manner the needs and challenges brought about by the continuous changes

in the industry environment. The movement for co-operation was supported by the

fact that the functions of the producer organisations overlapped to a great extent,

which caused unnecessary duplication of expenditure. In addition, most agricultural

producers cultivated more than one crop, but were represented by different organisa-

tions with respect to the different crops.

In general, the change in government in South Africa in 1994 and the accompany-

ing new policy directions made it desirable to form a greater united front to protect

the interests of agricultural producers. Changes in industrial requirements and the

agricultural environment in general required greater specialisation and not enough

experts were available for each industry to appoint its own specialists.

NAMPO realised the necessity for one organisation to be established to represent

all commercial grain and oilseeds producers. The leaders in such a dispensation

had to come from the ranks of the producer members and had to be empowered

to act according to their mandate.

The first purposeful discussions on co-operation between NAMPO and NOPO

were positive right from the start. Initially, the discussions with the WPO and the

SPO were less positive. However, NAMPO persisted in its efforts and the message

was conveyed that the many common factors that were dealt with separately by

the different industries could be addressed more effectively jointly.

The discussions between the organisations initially concerned only co-operation,

until Mr Andries Beyers, Chairperson of the WPO, expressed the opinion at a meet-

ing in Kroonstad that they should not really be talking about co-operation, but

about unification, or amalgamation. This made the role-players realise that unity

was more important than mere co-operation. The subsequent approach then shift-

ed from possible co-operation to possible amalgamation.

Discussions on co-operation between NAMPO and NOPO

Formal discussions at administrative as well as policy level between NAMPO and

NOPO were held as far back as March 1997 with a view to developing models for

future co-operation between the two organisations. From the start it was clear that

NAMPO and NOPO had a lot in common, as they shared the vision of promoting the

economic place in the sun of maize and oilseed producers.

The NOPO executive approved the co-operation in principle on 14 October 1997,

while NAMPO’s executive had in the meantime resolved to support the co-oper-

ation. The Chairpersons of both organisations, Messrs Gert Pretorius and Japie