••••
NEW S
Agri NW
looks at turnaround strategy
SENWES WAS ONCE
AGAIN A CO-SPONSOR
OF THE ANNUAL
AGRI NW CONGRESS
WHICH WAS HELD IN
LICHTENBURG ON 6
AND 7 SEPTEMBER.
THE THEME OF THE
CONGRESS WAS
“TURNAROUND
STRATEGY FOR A
SUSTAINABLE AGRISECTOR.
MARLON ABRAHAMS
D
r Pieter van Jaarsveld, a
psychologist and emotio
nal intelligence expert who has
worked with the Springbok Sevens
team, opened the congress with an
insightful presentation on the importance of emotional intelligence
in business. “Your qualifications
and skills are less important than
the way you think about people
and the world you live in. In essence you have to be the change
you want to see,” he said, quoting
Ghandi. Dr Van Jaarsveld had the
150 strong audiences in stitches
and rapture by regaling various
true stories about how a change
in a person’s thinking can lead to
success in his business.
28
Pierre Vercueil, the president of Agri NW, said
that producers have to
remain focused on being
able to produce food to
feed the nation. “The
debate on sustainability
is ongoing, with many
different factors unique to
South Africa, from politics
to climate, influencing the
debate. A healthy agri-sector is
necessary for economic growth in
our country. It doesn’t really matter who runs the country. The rapid increase in urbanisation means
that someone will have to feed the
people and the only people who
can meet this need are the South
African producers.”
Brand Pretorius, former chief
executive of McCarthy Ltd and
Toyota SA, addressed the congress on a turnaround strategy for
agriculture from a business perspective. The 68-year old former
business leader said a turnaround
strategy needs to take place against
the backdrop of the current economic realities.
“Guidelines for a turnaround
strategy have to include ethics,
embracing change, encouraging
transformation and empowerment
and the alleviation of poverty and
inequality. My dream is to see the
faces of successful black farmers at
the Agri NW congress in 5 years’
time.”
Prof Johan Willemse from the
Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the
OKT/NOV 2016 • SENWES Scenario
Omri van Zyl, Executive
Director Agri SA.
Free State spoke
about the practical
implementation of
a turnaround strategy for agriculture.
His presentation was
summarised by an example of Polish farmers who
survived the genocide of 6 million
people during the Nazi occupation
of Poland and still managed to
sustain a farming business. “When
I asked them how they did it, they
answered quite simply “We focused on our business.”
“Despite the challenges of the
South African reality, farmers need
to focus on running profitable
businesses and that is the debate
we should be having,” he said.
Omri van Zyl, Executive Director Agri SA, reminded the congress to be aware of global game
changes such as the US election,
Eurozone politics and the developing economies. “Our (Agri SA’s)
dream is unity in agriculture from
the farm to the boardroom. Everyone needs to be part of the dream.
We want to be the breadbasket of
Africa and no one is going to argue with you if you are responsible
for feeding an entire continent.”
He added, however, that “Agri SA
can scream change until it is blue
in the face, but it needs the leadership of local organised agriculture
to change first”.