Theo Vorster speaks to Dan Kriek, President of Agri SA about the communal land currently in the hands of traditional leaders. They discuss how this land can be brought to production. Dan mentions that the land has got great potential due to enough rainfall, however, the productivity is low.
The development of new and emerging farmers was on everyone’s tongues during the discussions and Theo further deliberates on this matter with Sinelizwi Fakade from Grain SA about their role in developing up-and-coming farmers. Sinelizwi points out how the Eastern Cape is the next “bread basket” with regards to grain production. This is because of the climatic conditions, soil potential and the land availability in that area.
Jannie de Villiers, CEO of Grain SA gives an insight of the discussions and the attendance of NAMPO Harvest Day with 81 345 visitors over the 4 days adding that Thursday had the most visitors. Jannie rounds off their discussion by giving an overview of the Nation in Conversation panel discussions and how farmers will continue to benefit from the discussions in future.
Theo finds out from Chris Venter, CEO of AFGRI what their driving message to farmers was during Nampo 2019. Chris says that there is big focus on growing the agricultural sector and the food value chain.
Lastly, Theo speaks to Francois Strydom, CEO of Senwes to get his inputs about the panel discussions and how the farmers are currently feeling. He makes mention of how farmers have been managing one crises after the other during these tough economic times and that farmers are ready to see the results of their production.
In the next episode, Nation in Conversation visits Brits in the North West to explore the beetroot industry. Catch Nation in Conversation on KykNet every Thursday evening at 18:00. Repeats are aired on kykNET, Fridays at 13:00, Saturdays at 17:30, Sundays at 17:00, Tuesdays at 16:30 and Wednesdays at 14:00.