SA Grain November 2017

November 2017

RELEVANT

It’s all about

changing

lives

‘T

imbewu

empowerment pro-

gramme is not a business im-

perative box that Monsanto has

ticked, but it is rather a social

contribution to help the various initiatives

participate in order to fulfil certain morale

imperatives.’

This is how Mr Kobus Steenekamp (com-

mercial lead, Monsanto South Africa)

describes this dedicated Monsanto de-

velopment programme to drive inclusive

growth. It all starts with a small seed lead-

ing to ‘seeding success’, as the slogan of

the programme states.

‘All the empowerment programmes Mon-

santo is involved in are really changing

lives. Some of the programmes are creating

jobs as well, to alleviate poverty which will

lead to other social benefits. Through the

Grain SA Farmer Development Programme

we have assisted more than 4 000 farmers

to increase their yields,’ he said.

Ms Parusha Pillay (manager, Government

Affairs and BBBEE Transformation, Mon-

santo) who unveiled the

imbewu

brand at

the launch on 4 August in Randburg, said

the

imbewu

empowerment programme

undertakes to improve the lives of South

Africans by focusing on enterprise and

supplier development, skills capacity build-

ing, education, staff volunteerism and car-

ing for vulnerable communities.

‘

imbewu

, meaning seed in Zulu, has three

main themes: To empower communities

for a sense of self-worth to enable them to

ultimately make their own decisions regard-

ing their destiny, contribute to sustainability

and discourage perpetual dependence on

funding and lastly to inspire others to do the

same,’ Pillay summed up the objectives of

this programme.

Monsanto decided to start a competition

internally for employees to come up with

a name for this empowerment programme

and also assisted with the design process

with regards to the logo.

Part of this umbrella empowerment pro-

gramme is Monsanto’s internship program-

me as well as business students who cannot

afford to go to university.

Although there is a constant debate about

agricultural technology and ethics in the

media, the bottom line is that we all need

food to survive. ‘While we are still waiting

to eat meat that is grown in a Petri dish,

we have to grow food to keep up with our

growing population,’ Ms Annette Steyn, DA

Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Forestry

and Fisheries, who was the guest speaker at

the launch, said.

For Steyn it is important to thank compa-

nies like Monsanto that deal with innovation

and technology for their dedication and pas-

sion. ‘This does not mean that we as politi-

cians must give them a free hand, but we

need to strengthen the monitoring and the

programmes to ensure there is a balance

between technology and ethics.’ She be-

lieves South Africa is following this strate-

gy, but says more could be done to educate

and debate the topic.

She added that the impact of smallholder

farmers has not yet been determined in

South Africa. ‘The latest crop estimate re-

port indicates that smallholder farmers

planted almost 370 000 ha during the past

production season. DAFF reported to have

inspected and validated only 41 000 ha.

This is a massive difference and shows that

government support is nowhere near reach-

ing our farmers,’ she said.

According to Steyn the Grain SA Farmer

Development Programme has shown what

can be achieved when farmers receive prop-

er support. She concluded, ‘Rural and com-

munal farmers increased their yields from

2,3 t/ha to 8,9 t/ha. Just imagine if the

370 000 ha received the same support. It is

clear that any assistance towards improv-

ing the lives of our rural people could go

a long way to ensure that we move nearer

to achieving the dream of a free and equal

South Africa.’

RUTH SCHULTZ,

SA Graan/Grain

contributor

“

Rural and

communal

farmers increased

their yields from

2,3 t/ha to

8,9 t/ha

“

1: At the

imbewu

empowerment programme logo are (in front): Parusha Pillay, Gyanendra Shukla (regional lead, Monsanto Africa), Annette Steyn and

Jurie Mentz (development co-ordinator, Grain SA). At the back are Kobus Steenekamp and Pieter Smit (marketing manager, Monsanto). The slogan for

this development platform is ‘seeding success’.

2: All the partners involved in the Monsanto farmer development programmes over the years. In front: Tine Cornillie (senior programme manager,

Khulisa Social Solutions), Zamo Shongwe (director, Buhle Farmer’s Academy), Gyanendra Shukla and Jeanne Renou (strategic relationship manager,

Raizcorp). Back: Innocent Makwaza (business development manager, Mobile Agri Skills Development and Training), Jurie Mentz, Nyiko Maluleka

(director, Buhle Farmer’s Academy), Neil de Smidt (CEO, Buhle Farmer’s Academy) and Parusha Pillay.

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