Future farmers: a coming of age

Last Monday, Judy Stuart dropped by to collect some Agri Handbooks for her Future Farmers Foundation. It is interesting that one of the most successful initiatives in agriculture comes from a person who was denied the opportunity to study agriculture as a career (women weren't accepted at agricultural colleges back then). Judy was accompanied by Noku Mweli, who is being groomed to take over.

The project looks to qualify farm managers capable of running commercial operations (and hopefully own their own farm one day). Some of the candidates have no qualifications at all and are armed solely by a passion to farm.

There is no need to recruit as Future Farmers receives many calls from young people looking for help. Candidates are placed on commercial farms, where work expected of them includes menial tasks like cleaning calf pens and washing dairies. Theory courses (part time study) are sourced, and after two years in which time the candidates have proved themselves, opportunities for overseas internships are sought. All the costs are provisionally paid for, and once they are earning candidates pay back this sum (the money is then used to fund the next batch of candidates).

You can imagine the skills these candidates have at the end of this time, not least the technical know-how and communicative skills! Not surprisingly, almost all find management positions on their return. Many continue to study part-time courses, usually business or financial ones.

For farm owners, at the very least, having a youngster on the farm means an extra pair of hands to help. Indeed, included in some of the Future Farmers stories are incidents where farmers take a much needed holiday because the interns are proving themselves to be so capable! But it goes further. Giving a young person (who has been screened) the opportunity to learn the ropes on your farm is also an investment in the future -- theirs and the country's.

Today is 27 April, a public holiday in South Africa remembering the first day, 21 years ago, that all citizens in this country took part in democratic elections for the first time. Like any coming-of-age, there are numerous possibilities and potentials, but none go anywhere good if we have not attended to something as basic as our food security.

If you are able to offer an internship on your farm and would like to know more, visit the website or drop an email to redcow [at] telkomsa.net.

Agriculture stakeholder engagement meeting to address attacks on foreign nationals

Press release by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries (DAFF), 22 April 2015

Business Sector stakeholders and Organised Labour had a constructive meeting with the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, General Bheki Cele, to discuss and share ideas to address the recent attacks on foreign nationals in various parts of the country. The meeting also aimed to find ways to prevent the violent attacks from spreading into the farming communities where foreign nationals are also employed.

Present at the meeting were representatives of the following sector stakeholders:

• African Farmers' Association of South Africa (AFASA)
• The Building and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (BAWUSA)
• Agri South Africa (AgriSA)
• National Emergent Red Meat Producers' Organisation (NERPO)
• National African Farmers' Union (NAFU)
• TAU SA
• South African Sugar Association (SASA)
• Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (PAMSA)
• Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz)

The meeting highlighted the root causes of the attacks some of which are not based on facts such as the perception that Immigrants take jobs and do not contribute to the economy of the country.

Phile van Zyl of the ZZ2 farms disputed the perception that farmers employ foreign nationals for cheap labour. He said that the farm employs a diverse group of workers and promote the attitude of consideration of all groups of people.

General Bheki Cele condemned the attacks on foreign nationals saying, “It’s embarrassing; it’s dehumanising; it’s humiliating; it doesn’t matter how much pain we feel as South Africans but we can’t act this way on the human race. We can’t do what our people did to the foreign nationals in Durban".

The resolutions are as follows:

1. The organisation  of  a  summit which  will  gather  other  government  departments and stakeholders to  further  discuss  issues related  to  labour,  working  condition,  the employment of foreign nationals and other issues in the farming sector. 
2. The leadership of the country need to promote diversity and show the people of South Africa that we cannot tolerate other groups on conditions. 
3. DAFF  must  deliver  on  the Agricultural Policy  Action  Plan (APAP) and  the  National Development Plan (NDP) to fast track job creation and help prevent bad perceptions on foreign nationals. 
4. Rural Development Programmes must be revitalised.

The department will embark on a series of Public Participation or Imbizo following a directive from the Presidency for all government departments to address xenophobic attacks in their sectors.

Poultry in the mountains

We are in the process of finalising all chapters for the next edition of The Agri Handbook, and have been checking details in the poultry chapter this morning. We'd like to share information on a poultry enterprise that impresses us.

Mikon Farms is based in Mpumalanga, an area which lies to the east of the country (thus a name which means "where the sun rises").

• The broiler houses have open sides, which allows the chickens to "breath the cleanest, freshest mountain air". 
• They have constant daylight from the sun (no artificial lighting) which ensures that "they rest well and grow the way nature intended". 
• The drinking water in the broiler houses is pure spring water, "caught at the source".
• The feeds are 100% hormone free.
• The abattoir is on the same property as the broiler houses, and so "transfers between are short, humane and stress-free".
• The abattoir is not fully automated and a lot of the processing is done by hand, so "there is attention to detail which machinery [doesn't] achieve". 
• As a result of the operations, there are jobs for 150 staff.

Amidst all the arguments about why intensive meat operations are necessary, an enterprise like this is as fresh as the Mpumalanga air. It sounds like the sort of operation from which a "conscious" meat eater would source poultry, doesn't it?

Delivering a sustainable approach to wine farming

By: Daneel Rossouw, Divisional Head: Agriculture Nedbank Limited

The opportunity

Wine farming remains a lucrative business in South Africa, with an abundance of grape production catering for both the local and global markets.  Sustainable business practices are increasingly vital to the continued profitability of the modern wine farming practice, faced with a warming climate and pressure on soil quality and water among other challenges.

Combined with the impact of labour unrest and wild fires over recent years impacting the harvesting of grapes, it is concerning that total export volumes for the South African wine industry fell 18% year-on-year in 2014, according to statistics released by VinPro, the service organisation representing 3 600 South African wine producer and cellar members, at the 2015 Nedbank VinPro Information Day.

In contrast, local sales remained buoyant, however, achieving growth of 5%. The importance of the wine industry to the South African economy cannot be underestimated.

According to the published figures available from A profile of the South African wine market value chain 2013, published by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Western Cape wine industry alone provided employment to almost 256 908 people in 2012, and contributed R14, 214 billion to the region’s economy between 2008 and 2012 – equivalent to approximately 7.3% of the total Gross Domestic Product of the province.

Sustainable agriculture

It is therefore essential that wine farmers are advised how to maintain profitability. One area that can have a positive effect is the use of new technologies, to better deploy new scientific farming practices, such as analysis of soil profiles, checking pH levels, map moisture levels and limiting wastage by identifying sub-optimal soils. By adopting a strategic and scientific approach, it may be possible to mitigate against potential problems in the future.

Environmental and social consciousness needs to form a part of every decision that is made. This includes establishing relationships with responsible stakeholders who are committed to socio-economic and environmental  development. Nedbank's specialist agricultural unit has ploughed R8,3 million into WWF-SA’s Sustainable Agriculture Programme since 2012, to help market and pilot sustainable agricultural practices on SA farms.

This has helped the bank to better understand and deliver on the social and environmental risks and opportunities facing the sector, leading to tailored and appropriate funding solutions for primary production (horticulture, livestock and field crop) and secondary enterprises (agribusinesses and agri-processing).

It also inspired the launch of Nedbank@Work, a service tailored for farm employees, which offers secure self-service banking, financial education and staff wellness days, and is linked to Nedbank’s Greenbacks rewards programme. 

Insurance is the final non-negotiable component of truly sustainable farming, particularly given the unpredictable and fast-changing weather patterns that now exist across the country as a result of climate change.

Innovative thinking and investment is crucial to sustain farming in present day conditions in order to consistently grow the best quality crops with the highest possible yields, all in the most sustainable manner.

Wine is one of the 180 chapters of The Agri Handbook.