SA Grain July 2017

Julie 2017

agricultural industries

at large

he Sasol Agricultural Trust was founded in March 2012 by

Sasol Chemicals Industries Limited. The Trust received do-

nations from the founder in the amount of R30 million.

The mission of the Trust is encapsulated in the main objective of

the Trust, namely to improve competitiveness and sustainability of

the agricultural industries, by funding market and production rela-

ted research, market information, market access, enterprise de-

velopment, education and training programmes and scholarships,

bursaries and awards for agricultural studies.

Current trustees are Messrs Jannie de Villiers (Grain SA and chair-

person), Jaco Breytenbach (Grain SA), Prof Ferdi Meyer (UP),

Messers Omri van Zyl (Agri SA), Danie Roode (Sasol), Dr Eric

Adriaanse (Sasol) and one vacancy. The representative nature of

the Trust provides the basis for informed and appropriate decisions

that would benefit the agricultural industries at large.

Agricultural industries are defined in the widest sense as far as

support by the Trust is concerned, although the Trustees adopted

as the primary focus the grains and oilseeds industries, being the

staple food providers to the country.

Opportunity, industry and market

The Trust identified a number of areas where it could play a role

in achieving its objectives within the Trust’s available resources.

These are,

inter alia

Funding of agricultural research activities and programmes

that are generic in nature or that spans across different com-

modities.

Provision of bursaries, scholarships and training opportunities

in fields not currently addressed by the agricultural industries.

Funding of surveys and projects that are deemed necessary to

improve the market for role-players and the supply of inputs

to producers.

Funding of projects to improve the provision of market informa-

tion and transformation initiatives.

Other agricultural trusts are commodity-specific and can therefore

not fund projects or initiatives that are not directly linked to the

commodities concerned. The Sasol Agricultural Trust does not have

this limitation and can address the gaps that exist.

For this reason, the Sasol Agricultural Trust plays a complementary

role to the actions and projects funded by the commodity trusts,

without entering the domain of those trusts and without creating

rivalry or duplication. Good co-operation exists between the Trust

and the commodity trusts with regard to the granting of bursaries

and scholarships.

Strategy

It is a known fact that funding for agriculture, particularly funding

aimed at research and capacity building, has declined over time.

The Trust focusses on important and dedicated programmes to

alleviate this problem. Through careful and focussed funding,

large benefits can be achieved and critical issues can be success-

fully supported.

Most industries have responded positively to invitations from the

Trust for the funding of a variety of initiatives. It is believed that

this will expand over time and specific niche funding opportunities

will be identified that could be explored by the Trust.

Bursaries, scholarships, internships and training courses are im-

portant aspects of the Trust’s funding strategy, particularly to build

capacity and to ensure proper skills development and job creation

in the agricultural industries.

Management and organisation

The representative nature of the Trustees creates a comprehensive

scope of expertise within the Trust.

Administration and day-to-day affairs are managed by L&L Agricul-

tural Services (Mr Leon du Plessis), an independent firm that ren-

ders similar services to a number of other agricultural trusts and

entities. The Trust’s investments are managed by a professional pri-

vate wealth asset management firm.

Requests for funding applications are communicated via agricul-

tural publications and through existing industry structures. Norms

and procedures for funding have been developed and certain condi-

tions apply to the funding granted by the Trust.

Bursaries (for national and international postgraduate studies) are

advertised annually, as well as for any training courses that the Trust

is prepared to support. Specific conditions apply and successful

bursary students are expected to work in agriculture for the same

period as the term of the bursary.

Funding granted by the Trust

Here are examples of funding already granted by the Trust to benefi-

ciaries since inception.

Monitoring of fertilisers and agro-chemicals

The Trust approved funding for a joint project of the Fertiliser As-

sociation of South Africa (Fertasa), Grain SA and the Department

of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

Producers, from time to time, experience problems with fertiliser

and agro-chemical quality. Individual producers often do not have

the means of taking legal recourse against the supplier. Funds were

therefore made available to assist producers in addressing pro-

blems that they experience with fertiliser and agro-chemical quality.

Rodent pest management

The University of Venda was funded for a project aimed at the eco-

logical management of rodent infestations in grain fields, which was

done in conjunction with other projects where different methods

were applied to control rodents.

Attendance of international conference

The Southern African Grain Laboratory (SAGL) received funds for

the attendance of the Micronutrient Forum Global Conference by

two of its analytical staff during June 2014 in Ethiopia. The SAGL

is increasingly playing an important role as a reference laboratory

in agriculture and this initiative presented an opportunity to build

capacity in the industry.

RELEVANT

LEON DU PLESSIS,

administrator, Sasol Agricultural Trust