Earlier this month, SAPPO attended the 2023 Agri SA Congress. With farmer delegates from all over the country, along with industry associations and agribusinesses, the vibrancy of agriculture was on show. Amid the tangible frustration over challenging business conditions, a glimmer of hope was evident in the growing appetite for civil society organisations to tackle rural challenges.
The congress theme this year was “Food certainty”. This was defined as the ability to buy food that is safe, available, and affordable with money earned from being employed by viable and sustainable businesses that pay taxes used to build and maintain infrastructure and services. Much of the discussion centred around the impact of decaying infrastructure en route to markets, as well as the importance of getting unused land into production with the right calibre of farmers and support.
Notably, Prof. Nicholas Binedell, founding dean of the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), cautioned delegates that the risks agriculture face are too large for it to carry on its own. He stressed the need to build relationships in all corners of organised business and civil society to amplify the work that Agri SA is doing. As service decay continues, he encouraged delegates to find innovative ways to collaborate on systemic risks.
Johann Kotzé, SAPPO’s former chief executive officer, was welcomed to the Agri SA community and the excitement regarding this new chapter was evident among all delegates. It remains an imperative that SAPPO is visible in the larger organised agriculture vicinity, as much of our own successes can be scaled through the partnership we yield from the larger agricultural community.
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.
