Create jobs for the youth in sub-Saharan Africa: an opportunity

As many as 11-million young Africans are expected to join the labour market every year for the next decade. One can see why creating jobs is a high priority in these countries.

The World Bank released a report this week entitled Youth Employment in sub-Saharan Africa.

Governments are urged to (1) improve the business environment to spark more private investment, and (2) to invest more in young people’s education and other skills to create brighter life prospects for them.

Interestingly enough, as working populations get older in other parts of the world, Africa could find an international demand for her labour and skills if her governments improve the education and job training of their youth.

In The Agri Handbook for South Africa, Youth and Job creation are chapters in the "National Issues" section. Another whole section is devoted to agricultural education and possible careers.

Ready for round six?

The new year has started and by this time you are all back at work, earning your livelihoods from perhaps the noblest profession – the production of food for the country, which enables life to go on.

Agriculture is the economic backbone of the rural areas, bringing stability here. But it does this for cities too (people there don’t have to grow their own food!)

The Agri Handbook provides an orientation to every part of the agro-food value chain. We invite you to take out your copy and look at the index pages again, or view these online here.

We are set to begin work on the 6^th edition and invite you to have a profile in this book. Available as hard copy, CD-ROM and free online, it is an investment in the future of your company and indeed, in your own. Refer to the "Advertise" option on this website.

Global agribusiness Forum to meet in Cape Town

The 2014 forum of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) will take place in Cape Town in June. This will be the first time that this global event will happen on the African continent, reports South Africa's Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz). The Forum hosts speakers and participants from more than thirty countries.

To read about agribusinesses in South Africa, find the chapter in The Agri Handbook here.

The rand, rain, tractors

The South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA) represents companies supplying ... well ... agricultural machinery. Find the chapter "Tractors, combines and balers" in The Agri Handbook here.

SAAMA puts out a monthly statement on tractor and combine harvester sales, along with a short commentary.

Late rains [and no rain] in the west of the country has affected the planting of maize there. The South African rand (ZAR) has been weak of late (which will push up prices of machinery). This leads to an early forecast that tractor sales in 2014 will be lower than in 2013. Positive factors remain commodity prices (which are solid) and the "relatively low grain stocks in the country".

Find the report for December 2013 at http://www.saama.co.za/saama/saamstat.htm

Technology and living together

This past weekend I proof read a friend's article which looked at how trade unions have embraced technology (or not). It was fascinating reading as these bodies often see their prime purpose as bargaining over wages.

Technology is a vital factor for social organisations like trade unions within a country, but also for countries themselves, especially since we are all part of the "global village" (farmers in a rural area of the Free State or Mpumalanga are affected by the weather in the USA or Australia!)

Technology is covered in The Agri Handbook in chapters like ICT and agricultural media, and there are references to it in others like Animal improvement & breeders; Tractors, combines & balers; Research & development and Precision farming.