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5
September 2018
Adjusting to change
t
he other day a study group asked me to address them at
their meeting. Their theme was ‘Agriculture 2050’. The topic
I had to discuss addressed the importance of relationships
and values during negotiations.
This was not an ordinary presentation with a few graphs and
projections. These men were definitely thinking deeply about the
future. I spent the week before the presentation in Botswana. Dur
ing this time I studied the survival of nature to allow me to compile
something valuable for these men.
What drew my attention was how plants and animals adapt to their
environment to survive – and even to multiply. I was unable to find
committees of plants and animals sitting around for hours, reflect-
ing on how to change the environment. Plants and animals find ways
to survive – and even prosper – by becoming experts in adapting
to their environment – which they cannot change at all in any case.
This led me to thinking about how much time Grain SA spends on
trying to change the environment, and how much time is spent on
supporting producers to survive and flourish in the existing environ
ment.
Some members of senior management recently attended overseas
congresses in their fields of expertise and returned with great ex
citement. One message about which all of them were particularly
clear, was: While South Africa is involved in internal matters (and
politics), the rest of the agricultural world is adapting to changes in
their environments. Adjustments are made on the basis of the influ
ence the new trade war between the USA and China will have on
others. South Africa’s producers will not be able to keep their eye
on the local political ball only, but will also have to observe narrowly
what is happening in the rest of the world. We will have to make
adjustments.
I realised once more that we as producers have the minimum impact
on the environment and can do relatively little to improve this. The
focus should rather be on how to survive and flourish within the en
vironment in which we produce grain.
The current uncertainties in our country are driven by two particu
larly strong emotions: Fear and anger. These are virtually irrecon
cilable emotions in any meeting. There are those who fear all the
uncertainties with respect to safety and what is going to happen
to their farms, and there are those with anger about the past and
frustrations because they cannot free themselves from the grip of
poverty. There are really very few people with answers to the situa
tion. I am still searching for them.
Yet, somewhere between all the noise, a small flame of hope has
once again flared up. The Presidency is relatively interested in
seeing a plan for agriculture – something similar to the one the
motor vehicle industry drafted and implemented a few years ago.
That truly was a partnership that was very fruitful for the South
African economy.
I just hope that we as leaders in agriculture will not become too
busy with each other in the process. It is time to co-operate and go
forward – if we get the chance.