In recent weeks, a number of SAPPO’s staff have travelled to various farmers of all sizes and who are based across the country. It was a reminder of the tenacious fibre and acumen that drives their businesses and successes. Listening to their stories reminds us of the importance of narrating our own collective story and not leaving a vacuum that can be filled with other perceptions and myths.
In South Africa, there is so divisive a rhetoric around agriculture and farmers. In these ideological narratives, the basis for engagement has become based on perceptions of identity, rather than the business viability of individual farmers and the industry. By no means should we forget the historical injustices that have shaped our history, but limiting our understanding of what constitutes the common ground in agriculture to aspects of identity impedes our ability to collectively invest in our shared commercial success.
From our engagements, it is clear that the common ground in the pig industry, and to an extent the larger agricultural industry, is values. There is no differentiation based on scale or identity when it comes to how market-orientated farmers think about their families, nature, their produce, their communities, and rural development.
SAPPO is taking increasing responsibility to shape how we think and talk about farmers and agriculture in general. This will be a central theme at this year’s annual general meeting.
The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
