Uniting South African grain farmers is a mission that Grain SA chief executive Dr Pieter Taljaard has embraced with grace and open arms since his appointment to the sought-after position in June last year.
Speaking to Food For Mzansi on the sidelines of Grain SA’s recent congress in Bothaville in the Free State, Taljaard said farmers not only had to work together, but also hold each other accountable.
Tiisetso Manoko: It’s been about ten months since you moved into the hot seat at Grain SA. What has been your main priorities since making this career move?
Pieter Taljaard: My task was really to get back to the farmers. At some point, Grain SA had for the right reasons focused on interacting with government, but for me the most important thing was to understand what the farmers wanted, what their concerns were and really to assist them. That is why we are exist; to help them become more profitable.
Infrastructure, particularly in the Free State, has been a hot topic at the recent congress. What are your expectations of government in this regard, and other pressing matters?
Failure for the sector to grow because of poor infrastructure will lead to job losses and a threat to food security. The fortunate rains had a serious impact on the roads. Farmers are willing to assist, but legally they cannot get on the roads and start fixing them. They are willing to assist where they can, but ultimately that is the government’s job.
There is always hope. The key thing that we have come to realise is that government has so many priorities. However, food security for this country remains key. I think there are people who do not fully appreciate and understand what safe and secure food means in South Africa.
Can you just imagine what would have happened during the Covid-19 pandemic if we did not have enough food [reserves]. We would have had to import more food, so as a country we really are fortunate.
Technology is key to move South Africa forward. Are grain farmers embracing it as they should be?
Well, technology is here. We cannot run away from it. We have seen globally that farmers are getting bigger and bigger on technology. Secondly, farmers are eager to have [the latest agricultural] technology because it will help to increase their productivity, which leads to profitability and makes us compete [better] with other countries.
But we cannot compete with other countries when we do not have such technology at our disposal. Yes, technology will help us to produce more. [It will] help us manage our risks and helps us to provide more jobs and make farming more sustainable.
With about 200 congress attendees, there has been a big discussion about many challenges. What is the most important discussion that you looked forward to?
Just farmers telling us what to do and how to help them to become more profitable. The congress is about the farmers and being able to hear their concerns and trying to address them. The relationship with government is key. We are open to working with government, so the congress must pave [the] way for the year ahead.
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