5
April 2014
Congress 2014:
Thenext generation
w
e arrived at the Grain SA
Congress in the rain. From
the north, east, south and
west. Whether you are a
winter or summer grain
producer, it does not mat-
ter, rain is always welcome! The atmos-
phere was genial and that brought a lot of
energy to the table.
What I also noticed was the gravity with
which the issuesof thedaywereaddressed.
Despite favourable agricultural conditions,
themen andwomenwere focused to grap-
ple with the burning issues of the day. The
theme: “The next generation” was relevant
to all. If you were not part of Generation Y,
you had to get into their heads to under-
stand how they operated so that you could
lead them tobecome adultswho couldpro-
duce food for their generation and those
who follow them, for theirs. This was invig-
oratingly fresh.
What impressed me personally was the
level of responsibility with which our input
suppliers tackled the future.Of course there
is alsomoney to bemade if you faced such
challenges, but settinggoals likeyields hav-
ing to double by 2030 and inputs having
to decrease by 33%, needs to be done. I
heard leaders in the input industry equally
concerned as we as producers are about
a world that is facing a massive food secu-
rity crisis.
Therearedays that I dreamof agovernment
showing the same urgency in its actions.
Talkingandplanningarenot going to fill any
plates with food. I was also excited to hear
that someplanswerealready inplacewhich
would assist uswith this immense task; but
except for the forecasts with regard to cli-
matechanges, I didnot have thesamewarm
feeling about our actionswhen theweather
did not play along. Somethingwe still have
towork on.
The presentation about Generation Y (born
between 1981 and 2000) was something
eachof usneeded, tobetter understand this
group of people. It was also a pleasure to
show the world some of our farm workers
whodonot just fill anoverall, butwhomake
a substantive contribution to food security.
Farmworkerswithdiplomas anddegrees in
agriculture must have been threatening to
some inorganised labour!
A number of new terminologies were also
coined during Congress. Our vice chair,
VictorMongoato, inhiswelcomingaddress,
referred to the “developingcommercial pro-
ducers”. In the past so many names have
beengiven to thisgroupof producers just to
avoid the racial issue, but this name stayed
with me. It says something about the pro-
cess they are in, but also says something
about the end-goal towards which they are
heading. Theother term I pickedup in adis-
cussionwithoneof our international guests
is “EasternHemisphere”. This isAfrica, Asia
and theMiddle East. Maybe not such a nice
straight line as we are used to in the divide
between the North and the South, but cer-
tainly meaningful when it refers to grain
consumption. It is this Eastern Hemisphere
that will be big and will be growing a lot in
grain consumption in the next five to ten
years.
The last new terminology I learnt is “data
science”. I was so under the impression of
all the scientific data being loaded onto our
producers, which require serious collation
and interpretation before it becomes man-
agement information with which you as a
producer can take decisions. Grain SA will
definitely have to expand our capacity in
thisdirection to assist our producers to turn
all the data into a digestible format so that
decision-makingbecomes easier.
It was heart-warming and a vote of confi-
dence that the grain producers themselves
resolved toproperly fund their organisation
through an increase in the voluntary levy.
It is a brave leadership that turn belief into
deeds by leaving to the next generation
something of substance and of which we
can all beproud.We look forward to a good
season and strong growth in the grainmar-
ket. Thank you to all who have contributed
to setting this newdirection so that wemay
embrace the futurewith confidence.
DSKOOSKIRSTEN
WOORD
Uit die
o
ns leef in ‘n wêreld waar baie min dinge vas en seker is.
Dieprysevanprodukteverander, dieprysevan trekkers en
implemente verander, die wisselkoers maak wat hy wil en
so kan ons aangaan. As daar nou een ding is waarvan die
meestemense nie hou nie, is dit om onseker tewees. Ons
probeer op allerlei maniere om belangrike dingemeer seker te kry.
Ons verskans produkpryse, kry waarborge en doen wetenskaplik
gefundeerde toekomsstudies om moontlike veranderinge te voor-
spel sodat ons reg kan wees as dit gebeur. Ons doen baie moeite
om net ‘n bietjiemeer gemoedsrus te kry in ‘nwêreldwat erg deur-
mekaar en onvoorspelbaar is. In hierdie lewe kan ons egter altyd
vaneending sekerwees, naamlik elkebeloftevandieHere. Hydoen
altydwatHybeloof. Hywil hêdat onsdaaraanmoet vashou, daarom
doen Hy twee dinge: Hy beloof én Hy bevestig sy beloftes met ‘n
eed. Hywil hêdat ons dubbel sekermoet wees.
InHeb6:13 - 20 leesonsdat dieHere ‘nbelofteaanAbrahamgemaak
het. Hierdie belofte het Hymet ‘n eed bevestig.Wanneer ‘nmens ‘n
eed sweer, doen jy dit by iemand groter as jyself. Gewoonlik sweer
ons byGod, omdat Hy die grootste is. Daar is niemand groter as Hy
bywie ‘nmens ‘n eed kan sweer nie. As die Here self ‘n eed sweer,
doenHydit byHomself,want daar isniemandgroter asHynie. Hy is
verder ook altyd getrou aan Homself en kan nie lieg nie. As Hy iets
belowe, sal Hy dit doen. As Hy dit boonopmet ‘n eed bevestig, kan
ons twee keer seker wees dat Hy sal doenwat Hy beloof. AsHy dan
sê dat elkeen wat in Christus glo die ewige lewe sal kry (Joh 3:16),
dan kan jy seker wees dat dit sal gebeur. As Hy sê dat niemand ons
uit Sy hand sal ruk nie (Rom 8:31 - 39), kan diewêreld ook vergaan,
dit sal nie gebeur nie. As Christus sê dat Hy nie een van diéwat die
Vader aan Hom gegee het, verlore laat gaan nie (Joh 10:28), sal nie
een van hulle verlore gaan nie. Die belofte van God is vir ons, ons
kinders en almal wat daar ver is, wat die Here ons God na Hom toe
sal roep (Hand 2:39). As dit dan vir jou voel asof alles om jou tot niet
gaan en die onsekerhede van die toekoms joumal wil maak, onthou
dat elkebeloftevanGoddubbel vas en seker is. Boudan jou leween
jou toekoms daarop.
Baiegeluk aanElizeduToit
vanHermanuswat vir die
Februarie-uitgawe van
SAGraan/Grain
diegratis
Bybel gewenhet.
