Load shedding, food "shedding" and statues...

May 2015

JANNIE DE VILLIERS, uitvoerende hoofbestuurder/CEO

With the drought in the north and countrywide load shedding, the thought crossed my mind that it was just the grain producers of our country who stood between load shedding and food “shedding” (food shortages).

We talk so much about food security and sometimes energy security, but then I also have thoughts about the security of the skills to be able to produce food. How concerned is the country about this? It serves no purpose to destroy statues if we have no food. Even new statues cannot produce food!

To merely accept that matters can continue along this vein is definitely not acceptable! Many of the things taking place around us concerning agriculture suggest that auto pilot will have us crashing into the mountains.

I have always had the greatest respect for creative people who do not allow circumstances to overwhelm them. That is where we are now. Our leaders in these days are once again going to revisit our strategic plan to determine what role Grain SA should be playing in the future. That we will be challenged outside our comfort zone is a fact. We will have to remain calm, and level headedly find the new future for ourselves. In any event, it does not help to only blame others.

I wish to share with you something we did not anticipate. Following our agreement with China to export maize to them, quite a number of strategic countries that also import maize, submitted enquiries to South Africa in this regard. These include countries like Vietnam and Indonesia and it seems that they wish to follow the way China has shown. This is really extremely good news for our producers.

It looks like soybeans have somewhat outperformed maize this dry season. Fallow lands once again showed why many producers use this system. Maybe this will lead to a decline in the total hectares under maize; but this, however, remains to be seen. The secret is indeed still: Let the results (and not emotions) dictate the best plan.

The producers in the south are in the midst of the planting season, especially after the first rains fell in the Southern Cape. We trust that you will have a good season. The increases in the demand for barley and canola seem promising and if we can only get wheat on a better trajectory, the hectares could increase nicely.

The Grain SA Leadership’s investment these past four years in research capacity and the management of research is starting to bear fruit. Grain SA recently finalised our first contract with the Department of Science and Technology to initiate pre-cultivation programmes for wheat. These are additional funds previously not available for research. This breakthrough and new partnership is something we have anticipated, for quite some time now. Well done to the team who finalised this.

I close this month with the advice of Mr Max Du Preez following the severity of racism against statues we experienced recently: “The voice of reason will have to work even harder to be heard above all the noise. Reasonableness is the only way to realise the dream of a rainbow nation.”

Publication: May 2015

Section: Features