Are you ready for a thought provoking experience? The annual AMT Agri-Outlook Conference is not to be missed and remains one of the highlights on the South African agricultural calendar.
The 15th AMT Agri-Outlook Conference will be held on 29 September 2015 at the CSIR Convention Centre in Pretoria. The theme of this year’s conference is: A technological, political, resource and market perspective on Agriculture in South Africa Post 2020. Producers, producer organizations, banks, universities, government officials, agribusinesses and the media will attend. This is an excellent annual networking opportunity for all role-players in Agriculture.
Some of the renowned speakers will be Dr Roelof Botha (GOPA Group), who will give an economic outlook for 2016, and Prof Hannes Rautenbach (Head of the Department Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology and Associate Professor at Pretoria University), who will discuss the climate outlook for 2015 and 2016. Prof Rautenbach will give his opinion regarding rain expectations for the coming summer. Another excellent speaker, JP Landman will present his political outlook for 2016 and Dr Antony Turton will give an overview of the implications of water policy reforms on agricultural productivity in South Africa.
During the panel discussion the opportunity will arise for interaction between the audience and experts in their field. This year the panel of experts will focus on investment decisions and agriculture. Issues that will be discussed include what farmers invest in, reasons for agricultural investment in foreign countries and how investment can be attracted to the South African agricultural sector.
Opportunities for South African agriculture arising from an increasing global food demand will be the topic of Mr. Japie Snyman (Seaboard Overseas Trading and Shipping). The Global and SA Outlook for the supply and demand of grains, oilseeds and livestock 2016 will be addressed by Dr Herman van Schalkwyk (CEO: AMT).
The day’s programme will be concluded with a ”spitbraai” with guest artists and a prize draw. To be able to listen, experience and interact with this experts register now for this conference. If you are interested in attending this conference, or want to sponsor, exhibit or advertise in the conference programme, contact Lorinda Rust at +27 (0)79 506 5268 or email finance@amtrends.co.za.
”Our endeavour is to provide you with a thought provoking experience that will help you to shape your business or organisation for future challenges.” – Dr Herman van Schalkwyk, CEO: AMT.
REGISTRATION ENQUIRIES: Lorinda Rust at 079 506 5268 or e-mail finance@amtrends.co.za
Tuesday 18 August 2015
Friday 14 August 2015
Until the cows come home
We have been following the plight of British dairy farmers as they try to draw attention of consumers to what is happening in their country. Today there is a video clip of farmers walking Holstein dairy cattle down the aisles in a supermarket to make their point: if milk continues being sold at the present price in supermarkets, in six months there won't be any dairy farmers in the UK. Their protests appear to be drawing some response, as witnessed by the article (and video) Milk price row: ALDI and Morrisons vow to raise the price paid to farmers.
Five editions of our The Agri Handbook (previously the National Agricultural Directory) have been published, spanning just over a decade. The introduction to the dairy chapter includes the number of dairy farmers in South Africa. It has been a cause of great concern to watch this number plummet over the years. It appears especially iniquitous when the price the public pays for raw milk is 66% more than what is paid to the farmer!
Farmers are caught between a rock and a hard place, as the expression goes. They are price takers, both in terms of inputs and in terms of what they get from their produce. How much can they be squeezed? How much pressure can they absorb?
What to do when, for various reasons, your product can be sourced from elsewhere at a lower price than what it costs you to produce it? Apart from produce-something-else/give-up, options usually offered include better technology, greater efficiency across the value chain, and going bigger (economies of scale).
The major challenge in this country is that at a time when veterans are packing up, we are trying to establish new black farmers on the soil. Not only this; we have also made dairy products one of the country's action programmes in our 2015 Industrial Action Policy Plans (IPAPs). Watch this space ...
Find the two dairy chapters in the livestock and processing sections. Another chapter of immediate relevance is Goat & sheep dairy.
Five editions of our The Agri Handbook (previously the National Agricultural Directory) have been published, spanning just over a decade. The introduction to the dairy chapter includes the number of dairy farmers in South Africa. It has been a cause of great concern to watch this number plummet over the years. It appears especially iniquitous when the price the public pays for raw milk is 66% more than what is paid to the farmer!
Farmers are caught between a rock and a hard place, as the expression goes. They are price takers, both in terms of inputs and in terms of what they get from their produce. How much can they be squeezed? How much pressure can they absorb?
What to do when, for various reasons, your product can be sourced from elsewhere at a lower price than what it costs you to produce it? Apart from produce-something-else/give-up, options usually offered include better technology, greater efficiency across the value chain, and going bigger (economies of scale).
The major challenge in this country is that at a time when veterans are packing up, we are trying to establish new black farmers on the soil. Not only this; we have also made dairy products one of the country's action programmes in our 2015 Industrial Action Policy Plans (IPAPs). Watch this space ...
Find the two dairy chapters in the livestock and processing sections. Another chapter of immediate relevance is Goat & sheep dairy.
Monday 3 August 2015
A technological, political, resource and market perspective on agriculture in South Africa post 2020
The theme of this year’s AMT Annual Agricultural Outlook Conference is: A technological, political, resource and market perspective on agriculture in South Africa post 2020.
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| This is the 15th conference and will be held on 29 September 2015 at the CSIR Convention Centre in Pretoria. Photos appearing here are taken from their website, where you can also find maps, directions and other useful information. |
Three of the renowned speakers will be Dr Roelof Botha, who will give an economic outlook for 2016, and Prof Hannes Rautenbach, acclaimed climatologist (who will discuss the climate outlook for 2015 and 2016. Rautenbach’s presentation will be of great value especially to the producers and is considered as a highlight on the conference programme. Prof Rautenbach will give his conclusions regarding rain expectations for the coming summer, in order for producers to plan for the new season plantings. Another excellent speaker, JP Landman will present his political outlook for 2016.
A panel discussion will be held where the opportunity will arise for interaction between audience and experts in their field. Nation in Conversation sponsored by SENWES will be one of the topics of the panel. Other role-players in African Agriculture such as Drs. John Purchase, Theo de Jager, Anthony Turton, Messrs. Daniel Gad from Omega Farms in Ethiopia, Andrew Makenete (AFASA), Pitso Sekhoto, Antois van der Westhuizen (John Deere) and Dirk Hanekom (AgriAllAfrica) will be participating. Agribusiness Globalization - Focus on Opportunities in other countries for producers and agribusinesses, as well as investment opportunities in SA Agriculture will be addressed. The water situation in South Africa will be discussed by Dr Anthony Turton and technology in Agriculture post 2025 will also be one of the topics addressed by the panel members.
The day’s programme will be concluded with a ”spit braai” with guest artists and a price draw. If you are interested in attending this conference, or want to sponsor, exhibit or advertise in the conference programme, contact Ms. Dalene Coetzer at 00276 188 6533 or e-mail liaison [at] amtrends.co.za.
Article by Aginfo
Sunday 2 August 2015
Living with other people's narratives
This past week a certain country disputed the findings of a United Nations report, saying it rejected the UN's "narrative". It is not the name of the country that is important here, but this: if you lived in that country, what would your response have been been?
Considering its frame of reference (or narrative), every country or person's actions make complete sense to them, and they are horrified that others do not agree with them. It is not unusual for them to add then to the existing narrative: "People are biased" and "They are out to get us".
There is a scripture in Proverbs which could be in any religion's holy writ. "A person's report is believed until another comes and gives his side". I remember once asking my mother for a toy pistol while we were waiting in the cashier's queue at a supermarket. She shook her head, and so I summoned what appeared to be a fair argument. The whole family was aware that I no longer possessed one because my brother had thrown mine out of a moving car. My mother turned to me: "Yes, but you then took your brother's gun to the tool shed and demolished it".
Case dismissed.
In most cases, a narrative does not have a sequence of events which can be reviewed by a mother or a judge, followed by an indisputable verdict. It may have a context, but a look at the chronologies of two conflicting narratives will leave you scratching your head. The two parties could well be living in different universes!
Narratives are hard to correct. And some times, when a narrative has been revised, we wonder what really occasioned the change of heart and dig for motivations other than the explanation offered. This is especially true if it was our own narrative that the person abandoned.
One narrative in agriculture looks at what the population will be in such-and-such a year, usually 2030 or 2050, and then adds what is needed to accomplish feeding such a world (genetically modified crops etc). Now enter what someone has called the "competing narrative". Philip Lymberry in his book Farmageddon shows that we already produce enough food for what we'll need in such-and-such a year. Vast quantities, however, are siphoned off to prop up "factory farming" or "intensive meat producing facilities" (what you call it depends on your narrative). One could also point to the food we throw away, an astonishing 11.3 billion tonnes per year according to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General. Making changes to our food-chains would make a difference to the 900-million people suffering food shortages now, never mind the year such-and-such.
Having differences in opinion is inevitable. "The further one travels [into multiplicity and away from unity], the less one really knows", sang the Beatles in a song based on the Tao te Ching.
In my experience, the only time a narrative is hushed, though, is when there is a moment of understanding of what it is like for the other side. Have we really considered the anxiety caused by having an empty stomach, and not knowing where the next meal will come from? Or being hungry while also being responsible for a family who depend on you for food? If we don't experience this sort of co-feeling, what are our narratives really worth?
Considering its frame of reference (or narrative), every country or person's actions make complete sense to them, and they are horrified that others do not agree with them. It is not unusual for them to add then to the existing narrative: "People are biased" and "They are out to get us".
There is a scripture in Proverbs which could be in any religion's holy writ. "A person's report is believed until another comes and gives his side". I remember once asking my mother for a toy pistol while we were waiting in the cashier's queue at a supermarket. She shook her head, and so I summoned what appeared to be a fair argument. The whole family was aware that I no longer possessed one because my brother had thrown mine out of a moving car. My mother turned to me: "Yes, but you then took your brother's gun to the tool shed and demolished it".
Case dismissed.
In most cases, a narrative does not have a sequence of events which can be reviewed by a mother or a judge, followed by an indisputable verdict. It may have a context, but a look at the chronologies of two conflicting narratives will leave you scratching your head. The two parties could well be living in different universes!
Narratives are hard to correct. And some times, when a narrative has been revised, we wonder what really occasioned the change of heart and dig for motivations other than the explanation offered. This is especially true if it was our own narrative that the person abandoned.
One narrative in agriculture looks at what the population will be in such-and-such a year, usually 2030 or 2050, and then adds what is needed to accomplish feeding such a world (genetically modified crops etc). Now enter what someone has called the "competing narrative". Philip Lymberry in his book Farmageddon shows that we already produce enough food for what we'll need in such-and-such a year. Vast quantities, however, are siphoned off to prop up "factory farming" or "intensive meat producing facilities" (what you call it depends on your narrative). One could also point to the food we throw away, an astonishing 11.3 billion tonnes per year according to Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General. Making changes to our food-chains would make a difference to the 900-million people suffering food shortages now, never mind the year such-and-such.
Having differences in opinion is inevitable. "The further one travels [into multiplicity and away from unity], the less one really knows", sang the Beatles in a song based on the Tao te Ching.
In my experience, the only time a narrative is hushed, though, is when there is a moment of understanding of what it is like for the other side. Have we really considered the anxiety caused by having an empty stomach, and not knowing where the next meal will come from? Or being hungry while also being responsible for a family who depend on you for food? If we don't experience this sort of co-feeling, what are our narratives really worth?
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