Senwes Scenario October / November 2017 | Page 52

•••• FUTURE FOCUS

Build Back Better

JENNY MATHEWS
GEORGE WASHINGTON WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST A FARMER SAYING , “ AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL , MOST USEFUL AND MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MEN ... I ’ D RATHER BE ON MY FARM THAN EMPEROR OF THE WORLD !”
DO WHAT YOU DO WELL

At the outset of Washington ’ s post-military career he was driven to be a great tobacco farmer and later he also cultivated wheat . He read widely , implementing new methods like modern fertilisation and crop rotation . He also had a reputation for precise record keeping . At first his lobbying efforts were channelled to benefit his own interests ,

but once he found himself with increasing influence , he made it his life ’ s work to improve agriculture beyond his personal agenda . Washington believed that healthy agriculture and rural communities were critical to national welfare . He saw the establishment of agricultural colleges , funding of agricultural research programmes and support for agricultural extension services to empower farmers . This is the badge of true leadership : when one can transcend one ’ s own small world , see the bigger picture and pursue issues for the greater good .
The longer you look back the farther forward you are likely to see – Winston Churchill
Washington ’ s philosophy for agriculture still rings true today . Closer to home older farmers will be familiar with similar policies pre-1994 . This has changed and the post-1994 era has seen funding focused into the developing sector . Off the cuff I can think of a number of changes which have depressed our sector and reflect a shift of political will away from the agricultural sector :
• Once proud agricultural colleges , having produced competent farmers for decades , are now reduced to shadows of their former selves , facing one crisis after the next as a result of underfunding ;
• Funding once channelled into our respected research and development centres has reduced ;
• The extension services of highly regarded experts in every sub-sector in this country have undergone a complete transformation and that expertise has long moved to ‘ greener pastures ’.
We can ’ t turn back the clock . For obvious reasons we shouldn ’ t want to ! We only look back to inform our vision for the future - remembering that ‘ change is hard at first , messy in the middle and glorious at the end ’!
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OCT / NOV 2017 • SENWES Scenario
IT ’ S TIME TO DIG DEEP After winning the US Open semi-final match recently , Kevin Anderson admitted that losing the first set due to too many unforced errors forced him to dig really