NOTHING BEATS PERSONAL CONTACT

During October I attended the Agri SA Congress and at the end checked all my notes trying to identify tendencies from all the scribbling. There were ministers, presidents, politicians, academics and business people. Between all the presentations we as the Grain SA delegation kept an eye on the weather forecasts because it was planting time in the North and harvesting time in the South.

During tea breaks and lunch we conferred with one another about current affairs that were important to Grain SA. I must observe that the message of the secretary general of the ANC contained both good and bad news. What I, in my position as chief executive officer of Grain SA, took home was that our method of liaising with the government will have to continually change dramatically. For some time now we already know that writing letters is not good enough and even emails are not sufficient anymore. It is the personal contact that decides the issues. This makes the strategic decision to relocate the Grain SA Head Office to Pretoria so much more meaningful.

Yes, there is respect and appreciation for our contribution as experienced agriculturalists to the challenges for agriculture in the future. We will also, however, given our relationships, have to learn how much pressure we can place on the system to achieve better results and when relationships can potentially suffer if we do not know when to stop pressurising.

One area where we can currently exert almost no pressure is the vacuum in the Department of Agriculture. The offices are standing empty, even the lights are out, and as uncle Salam always say, “The department has changed into a drama school – all the staff are acting in their positions” (they are not permanently appointed).

Pressing too hard on an airless void might lead to funny noises. An open door policy is only good if there’s someone inside who is ready and able to assist. The vacuum, however, results in us, as South Africans, not being able to protect ourselves internationally anymore. Bad quality and dumping is at the order of the day and even unsafe food is being imported; international markets are refusing our products for miscellaneous, absurd reasons that these products ostensibly may harm the health of our overseas clients.

This implies imports and exports. As far as imports are concerned we are receiving more and more dumped products; products such as chicken injected with water, etc. With regard to exports we are experiencing a larger worldwide tendency for protectionism. One of the most recent events was Russia closing its borders to the importing of GMO maize. The reason for this was the report brought out in France by the manic professor wherein he questioned the safety of the product, despite his colleagues worldwide not accepting his findings. If even the most sceptical government, namely the European Union, rejects the findings of the Frenchman, the actions of Russia can only be viewed as protectionist.

That agriculture is diverse is definite. That our message is the same is also true. Sustainable production ensures food security and job opportunities. It is not only our methods of production that must change, but also our method of communication – what, however, is still a fact is that personal contact remains the best!

Jannie de Villiers, CEO