Senwes Scenario Augustus / September 2015 | Page 44

••• FUT UR E F O C U S If your voice isn’t in the conversation, who is representing the agricultural perspective? 42 participate in setting agendas, influencing decisions and giving voice to their concerns and interests ‘around the boardroom table’. This has nothing to do with taking over the role of the men or even competing with them! It is about participation and representation – and making a valuable contribution to the perceptions and policies being designed for the sector. ‘Another interesting website to visit is http://www.causematters.com. Michele Payn-Knoper, a leading farm and food advocate, insists that women in agriculture need to contribute towards building a connection between farm gate and food plate. ‘We live in an era of food judgment...feed your baby or- Kontak: Tel: [phone] Faks: [phone] E-pos: [email protected] ganic baby food if you want to be a “good” mother, buy local if you’re a “true” foodie... Technology in food production is frowned upon. And anyone with a vested interest in the agri-food system is surely so biased that they can’t be trusted.’ Willie Clack, local farmer and RPO representative puts it bluntly, ‘The naval cord to farms does not exist anymore and therefore we have an uneducated consumer…. Women within farming communities are currently the biggest users of the Internet and Facebook and should use the powerful tool to educate!’ I hope there will be a dawning realisation amongst women that we need to plug into the existing farmer associations, lobbies and organised agriculture platforms and make our voices heard. South African woman in the agricultural sector need to know there is a rising tide of feminine voices around the globe, speaking up in the realms of climate change, sustainability, agriculture and the good food movement – women with the attitude that since we bring new life into the world, we also have a responsibility to make sure our environment remains healthy for future generations. ‘A choir is made up of many voices, including yours and mine. If one by one all go silent then all that will be left are the soloists.’ LINK SEED S Kwaliteit en Diens Wit mielies Medium lang ng g groeiseisoen: g LS 8537 Medium d g groeiseisoen: LS 8519, LS 8533R, LS 8539B, LS 8541BR Geell mielies G i li Medium tot lang gg groeiseisoen: LS 8518 Medium tot vinnig g gr g groeiseisoen: LS 8538R Medium gr g groeiseisoen: LS 8536B, LS 8526 Ultra vinnige ig g groeiseisoen: g gr LG 3607 Y Yieldgard® en Roundup Ready® is geregistreerde handelsmerke en gelisensieer deur Monsanto Tegnologie LLC Sojabone j ja Groep o p 4 Groeiseisoenklas: LS 6444R, LS 6240R, LS 6146R Groep p 5 Groeiseisoenklas:: LS 6453R, LS 6248R Groep p 6 Groeiseisoenklas: LS 6466R,, LS 6261R,, LS 6161R,, LS 6164R, LS 6150R Roundup Ready ® is ’n geregistreerde handelsmerk en gelisensieer deur Monsanto Beperk