Young Leaders Laboratory
– where government and the private sector meet
T
he third Young Leaders Laboratory
(YLL) was held over two days dur-
ing January 2014 in Pretoria. This is
an initiative by Grain SA in partner-
ship with the sponsor, Santam Agriculture.
The aim is to convene the next generation
of leaders in the grain industry to start build-
ing relationships and to start debating the
big challenges of feeding the nation.
Attendance of the event came to 36 people
of whom nine were producers (commercial
and developing); six were from government
departments, namely the Department of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the De-
partment of Rural Development and Land
Reform; and the Department of Trade and
Industry. Other attendees were young and
upcoming academics and Grain SA staff
members.
Each small group was allocated an experi-
enced mentor in the sector to guide and as-
sist with the discussions and debate.
“The main purpose remains to build rela-
tionships between the leaders of tomor-
row,” Mr Jannie de Villiers, CEO of Grain SA,
said. “They need to start forming opinions
around the critical issues facing the indus-
try.”
Food security came up in almost all discus-
sions. This flows from subjects presented
such as crop insurance, strategic thinking
models, agriculture in Africa and global
competitiveness.
One exercise that activated extraordinary
excitement and debate was the identifica-
tion, rating and proposals for improvement
of the building blocks of food security. Is-
sues identified were: Food security policy;
market information; infrastructure; access
to land, especially communal land; access
to finance; skills; regional integration; con-
servation agriculture practices; and profit-
ability.
Access to land and infrastructure were seen
as the biggest stumbling blocks to improve
food security, whilst market information, re-
search and the skill levels of producers were
seen as big contributors.
Mr Eric Wenberg, the agricultural council-
lor of the USDA, also shared his experience
with the group regarding projections on
sub-Saharan Africa.
One of the speakers reminded the group of
a quote at the entrance to the Faculty of Ag-
riculture at the University of the Free State
saying: “A nation that looks well after its
agriculture is a nation that cares about its
future.”
At the conclusion of the two days, some in-
teresting observations were made:
Trade among nations creates jobs.
Do proper research before making any
decision.
Continuously invest in training.
Keep on studying.
Let the market and prices determine the
quantities produced and exported.
Improve listening skills.
There is a new model of thinking in be-
havioural change.
South Africa should be more aggressive
regarding our speed to access the Afri-
can markets.
“The most valuable aspects that I’ve experi-
enced these past two days, are the interest
in food security issues and the growing re-
alisation of how important agriculture is for
economic growth,” Dr Tom Zhuwau from
the Department of Rural Development and
Land Reform said.
Mr Tsikaro Mapena and Mr Johan van
Huyssteen from the Grain Academy and
Mr Wandile Sihlobo from Grain SA, said
they appreciate the collaboration between
government and different industry role-
players. They found the YLL to be a great
platform where universities, government
and private companies can work together to
improve and expand agriculture.
Mr Victor Mongoato, vice-chairman of Grain
SA, remarked that something that had stood
out for him, is the responsibility of leaders
in the grain industry to find new markets for
the producers’ products. According to Mon-
goato, the producers shouldn’t wait for the
buyers to approach them; they should start
being proactive in looking for new distribu-
tion outlets.
Grain SA identified the “next generation” as
one of their strategic goals as an organisa-
tion for 2014. Another initiative in this regard
is the Grain Academy. Grain SA in partner-
ship with Syngenta invests in leadership
training for young leader farmers. This was
a winning combination right from the start
and the second group commenced their
training in February 2014.
19
March 2014
GRAIN SA
DIANA RABIE,
communication consultant for Grain SA
Mr Eric Wenberg, agricultural councillor of the USDA, giving a presentation at
the last Young Leaders Lab held in Pretoria on 13 and 14 January 2014.
Attendees at the YLL during a group
discussion.
