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www.nampo.co.zaGraan|Grain
Dr Dirk Strydom, manager: Grain Economy and Marketing, Grain SA
The dream of a
NAMPO aircraft runway
N
AMPO is the flagship of agriculture in terms of show-
casing and the image of the sector. Furthermore, it is
also an important part of Grain SA on a commercial
level. The NAMPO Harvest Day assists the organisation
in creating additional funds to serve producers and to
ensure their sustainability.
As with any commercial venture, one always needs to
grow and be competitive in the business environment. Thus, in
order to make money one needs to invest money. One of the
future investments Grain SA is considering, is a sufficient aircraft
runway.
People might be under the impression that only producers
make use of the runway, but it is also used as a means of corpo-
rate transport. Various companies utilise the runway to fly in, not
only global executives of their companies, but also important
clients.
However, the runway is currently made of grass/dirt – creat-
ing a few complications with the number of planes that need to
land during the course of the NAMPO Harvest Day:
The number of planes landing has created bold spots, mak-
ing the landing area uneven and potentially damaging the
planes.
Grass tufts and the constant landing on the same spots de-
teriorate the smoothness of the runway.
Meerkat holes and tunnels can cause planes to nose-dive
– leading to serious damage.
Sandy soils mean the runway is very difficult to manage and
maintain.
The number of planes has decreased over the last few years. In
2016 a total number of 396 planes landed, 343 landed in 2017 and
355 in 2018. After consultation with various charter companies,
the explanation for the decrease in the numbers was that some of
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