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5
May 2015
Load shedding, food “shedding”
and statues…
w
ith the drought in the north and countrywide load
shedding, the thought crossed my mind that it
was just the grain producers of our country who
stood between load shedding and food “shedding”
(food shortages).
We talk so much about food security and sometimes energy
security, but then I also have thoughts about the security of the skills
to be able to produce food. How concerned is the country about
this? It serves no purpose to destroy statues if we have no food.
Even new statues cannot produce food!
To merely accept that matters can continue along this vein is def-
initely not acceptable! Many of the things taking place around us
concerning agriculture suggest that auto pilot will have us crashing
into the mountains.
I have always had the greatest respect for creative people who do
not allow circumstances to overwhelm them. That is where we are
now. Our leaders in these days are once again going to revisit our
strategic plan to determine what role Grain SA should be playing
in the future. That we will be challenged outside our comfort zone
is a fact. We will have to remain calm, and level headedly find the
new future for ourselves. In any event, it does not help to only
blame others.
I wish to share with you something we did not anticipate. Follow-
ing our agreement with China to export maize to them, quite a
number of strategic countries that also import maize, submitted
enquiries to South Africa in this regard. These include countries
like Vietnam and Indonesia and it seems that they wish to follow
the way China has shown. This is really extremely good news for
our producers.
It looks like soybeans have somewhat outperformed maize this
dry season. Fallow lands once again showed why many produc-
ers use this system. Maybe this will lead to a decline in the total
hectares under maize; but this, however, remains to be seen. The
secret is indeed still: Let the results (and not emotions) dictate the
best plan.
The producers in the south are in the midst of the planting season,
especially after the first rains fell in the Southern Cape. We trust
that you will have a good season. The increases in the demand for
barley and canola seem promising and if we can only get wheat on a
better trajectory, the hectares could increase nicely.
The Grain SA Leadership’s investment these past four years in re-
search capacity and the management of research is starting to
bear fruit. Grain SA recently finalised our first contract with the
Department of Science and Technology to initiate pre-cultivation
programmes for wheat. These are additional funds previously not
available for research. This breakthrough and new partnership is
something we have anticipated, for quite some time now. Well done
to the team who finalised this.
I close this month with the advice of Mr Max Du Preez following the
severity of racism against statues we experienced recently: “The
voice of reason will have to work even harder to be heard above all
the noise. Reasonableness is the only way to realise the dream of a
rainbow nation.”
DS KOOS KIRSTEN
WOORD
Uit die
e
en van die nuwe ontwikkelings op die gebied van akkerbou
is om grondvrugbaarheid te verhoog. Al hoe meer pro-
dusente begin nou om minimum- of geenbewerking toe te
pas. Daarmee saam doen hulle ook baie moeite om reg te
bemes, sodat die gewasse wat hulle plant goeie opbreng-
ste kan lewer. Indien ‘n spesifieke kultivar nie goed genoeg pre-
steer nie, word dit net nie weer geplant nie. Niemand kan suksesvol
boer as hy nie goeie oeste maak nie.
Die Here Jesus gebruik hierdie ingesteldheid van ‘n produsent om
goeie vrug op sy werk te soek om iets van die koninkryk van God
aan ons te verduidelik. In Luk 12:6 - 9 vertel Hy die gelykenis van
die onvrugbare vyeboom. In hierdie gelykenis is God die Vader die
eienaar en die vyeboom is sy volk.
Israel word op verskeie plekke in die Ou Testament met ‘n vye-
boom vergelyk (Rig 9:10 en Hos 9:10). Die Here het vrug by sy volk
gesoek en niks gekry nie. Hulle het nie geleef soos die Here wou
hê sy volk moes leef nie. Hulle was onvrugbaar en het boonop die
grond om hulle onvrugbaar gemaak. Hierdie boom moes uit, want so
kan daar nie geboer word nie.
Hierdie gelykenis wys egter ook op die Nuwe Testament. Ons is
ook soos die vyeboom wat vrugte moet dra. Jesus Christus het na
die wêreld gekom om ons vry te maak van die bande van sonde en
ongeregtigheid. Hy het sy Woord en Gees aan ons gegee om ons
te leer en te lei, sodat ons vrug kan dra (Gal 5:22). Ons kan en moet
nou ons kant bring. As ons dit nie doen nie, maak ons die grond om
ons onvrugbaar. As ons sê dat ons Christene is, maar nie vrug dra
nie, maak ons die omgewing waarin ons leef en werk onvrugbaar
vir die evangelie. As ons optrede daartoe aanleiding gee dat ander
mense sleg van God en die kerk en van Christenskap in die algemeen
praat, maak ons ons omgewing onvrugbaar en dan sal die oordeel
van God oor ons kom.
Ons het alles wat ons nodig het om baie en goeie vrug te dra. Ons
is gered, ons het die Woord en die Heilige Gees woon in ons. Laat
ons dan vrug dra en so leef dat die omgewing waarin ons leef nie
deur ons toedoen onvrugbaar gemaak word vir die evangelie nie.
Laat ons leef dat die evangelie wat verkondig word, soos goeie
saad op vrugbare grond val en nog meer vrug dra.
Baie geluk aan
Johan van der Walt van
Hopetown wat vir die
Februarie-uitgawe van
SA Graan/Grain
die gratis
Bybel gewen het.