Graduates and guest speakers at the 2016 Syngenta Grain Academy Graduation:
Tinet Stols (Grower, Bothaville)
Deon Barnard (Deputy Director, University of the Free State Business School)
Alber Viljoen (Grower, Nigel)
Wandile Mtsweni (Grower, Springs)
Mzwandele Sibiya (Grower, Kranskop KZN)
Jannie de Villiers (CEO, Grain SA)
Dr. Rene Uys (Director, Thinking Fusion)
Whernit Dirks (Grower, Piketberg)
Karabo Takadi (ABSA AgriBusiness)
ership development programme we are equipping young
commercial growers with the skills to tackle these challenges. Hopefully, they in turn will influence others to
also become Smart Farmers by replacing traditional
farming methods with a modern highly researched model
of farming,” says Linda van der Merwe, Head: Customer
Marketing Syngenta SA.
At a recent event where the Grain Academy Alumni
shared their progress on their own farms based on what
they applied from the Grain Academy teachings, Jannie
de Villiers stated: “The future of agriculture in South Africa is facing one too many red lights. For growers, survival has become the main goal. In turn, the larger
South Africa is feeling the effects. We need a pro-active
platform to discuss this reality and, in the process, do our
best to find workable science and technology based so-
lutions. A sustainable agricultural industry is within
South Africa’s reach.”
This is precisely what the Grain Academy aims to
achieve.
This year’s Grain Academy Projects targeted the theme
“Messy Problems”, and covered the following:
DROUGHTS AND FOOD SECURITY
According to AgriSA, “The drought has already seen
states of emergency declared in several provinces. And
it is one that could have far-reaching consequences for
the economy and catastrophic effects on farmers.” South
Africa’s incapacity to ensure food security and its impact
on long-term food security, as well as the strategic imperatives of emerging grower development, land reform