Sponsors of this year’s Agri SA congress yesterday demonstrated their commitment to rural safety and the success of agriculture in spectacular fashion during the event held in Pretoria. Sanlam, Corteva Agriscience, and the North West-based NWK together donated R1.1 million to the Agri Securitas Trust Fund.
The fund was founded by Agri SA in October 1998 as an initiative started by the late president Nelson Mandela after a special summit dealing with rural safety. Since 2017, it has supported more than 122 rural safety projects improving the safety, lives, and livelihoods of almost 8 800 farmers and 183 000 farmworkers and their dependents.
Yesterday’s pledge was described as a vital contribution to the trust’s work in protecting farming communities against farm attacks and criminality. The money will be geared towards expanding the installation of camera systems, and other monitor technology that can also be used to detect veldfires before it spreads.
Cobus van Zyl, chairperson of the trust fund, said although farmers worldwide were vulnerable to crime, the farming community in South Africa also dealt with brutal farm attacks.
“A phenomenon peculiar to our environment, compromising the country’s future food security,” he said.
“The vulnerability of farming and rural communities is therefore not only a farmers’ issue but a community issue and a national imperative, and we are encouraged to see the corporate world taking proactive steps to assist the sector in keeping farming communities safe.”
ALSO READ: Agri SA congress: ‘Reduce reliance on imports’
Enabling farmer success
According to Agri Securitas, the donation underscores the strong partnerships forged between the agricultural sector and corporate world.
Tony Esmeraldo, who leads Corteva Agriscience in Southern Africa, said the company could be found on the ground, innovating collaboratively with farmers to help enable their success.
“Our collaboration with the Agri Securitas Trust Fund demonstrates our commitment to rural safety and to the success of agriculture in South Africa,” Esmeraldo explained.
Meanwhile, Karl Socikwa, group executive for market development and sustainability at Sanlam, said they understood how catastrophic it would be to the country, economy, and communities if the agricultural sector was unable to offer enduring food security.
“As part of our long-standing relationship with the trust fund, we will continue to support their exceptional efforts in helping increase the security in the vulnerable rural areas,” Socikwa pledged.
“Our purpose as a business is to empower generations to be financially confident, secure and prosperous and we hope this initiative will have an impact in this area for farming communities.”
Johan Bezuidenhout, group manager of corporate marketing and communication at NWK, l described the work done by the trust fund as a matter of national interest.
“NWK was established in 1909 by farmers for farmers. For NWK, it is of utmost importance that the safety of producers, their families and farm workers be taken care of, the country’s food security depends on it.
“This contribution to the Agri Securitas Trust Fund is therefore important to us as a matter of national interest of all South Africans,” said Bezuidenhout.
Van Zyl furthermore said that the Agri Securitas Trust Fund was grateful for the donation and that it builds on the generous donations from other corporate partners. This included Nissan SA, who has donated millions of Rands over the past 21 years. “These companies should be recognised and supported for their contribution to the trust fund to ensure a safe and prosperous farming community.”
ALSO READ: ‘Invest in future resilience,’ pleads Wesgro boss
Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain.
