Source: Ishmael Sunga, Bizcommunity, 10 May 2021, photo credit: FIDIC
The agricultural sector – particularly in Africa – bears the historical paradox of having significant economic potential on the one hand and lacking the required agility and innovation to harness its resources for notable global competitiveness on the other.
And though the systemic weak links highlighted by the Covid-19 pandemic – politically, economically and socially – aren’t new, the grave need for an overhaul has certainly been amplified.
In its ubiquitous call for meaningful change, the pandemic has left no industry exempt. And the playing field has been levelled – albeit only to a point.
In the absence of a response template, the pandemic has thrust the agricultural sector into improvisation mode, whereby real change can only come about through intentional collaboration. The more resilient, globally competitive agricultural sector that we aspire to must be engineered by working together.
And as a legitimate part of the agricultural value chain, smallholder farmers (especially) deserve equity in market share and allocation of resources. Therefore, a critical point of departure for creating a “new agriculture” and “building back better” to effect change is with our farmers. Without them there is no sector.
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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.
