A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

THE

GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY

OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

Author’s

POINT OF DEPARTURE AND BACKGROUND

There are an infinite number of research works, articles, dissertations, opinions, in-

vestigations, studies and other materials – not to mention anecdotes – focusing on

and clarifying various individual aspects of the different factors. For this reason the

approach in this book is not to render technical facts or the chronological course

of events for academic purposes, but rather to tell the story of grain production in

South Africa, with specific reference to the story of Grain SA.

In the process care was taken to render the facts and events as correctly as pos-

sible. Sources used for this include personal interviews with people who were

closely involved in the story, historical agricultural publications, official reports, re-

search results, websites, magazines, minutes and annual reports. A list of sources

is provided at the end of the book.

The premise was also not to record all Grain SA’s activities, but to rather present

the history and background as a story and to emphasise only a few highlights,

mainly from the period up to the end of December 2015.

INTRODUCTION

Although grain production in South Africa already started shortly after Jan van

Riebeeck settled at the Cape, this publication refers almost exclusively to the con-

ditions and developments in grain production and marketing in South Africa since

the end of the Second Boer War in May 1902.

The establishment of Grain SA in 1999 was not an event that can be viewed in isola-

tion. It was preceded by almost a century of development in the grain industry and or-

ganised agriculture in South Africa and in order to provide a proper understanding of

the establishment of Grain SA and its role in the grain industry, the first four chapters

of the book contain information on the conditions and events preceding this event.

These developments also had an effect on the development of the structures of

organised agriculture and the eventual establishment of Grain SA.

Overall, the history of South African agriculture in general over the past century or

so can be divided into two distinct eras, with a short period between the two that

can be viewed as a transitional period.

During the first period, from the beginning of the twentieth century, the trend for

greater control over agricultural marketing in particular gradually increased, first

The historical development of agriculture and specifically of

the grain industry in South Africa has been affected by so

many factors, events, circumstances, influences and peo-

ple that it would be an impossible task to integrate eve-

rything into one document, and to try and explain each of

these factors individually. Consequently it was decided to

restrict the scope of this book and to focus only on certain

themes and events.

NOTES