Industry leaders, farmers, and organised agriculture gathered as the Potato SA Transformation Symposium navigated through the possibilities, successes and challenges of the transformation agenda in the commodity.
Role players have urged that collaboration and unearthing raw talent in terms of involving young people was key in ensuring the commodity was walking the talk.
The attendees, which included economists, government officials and experts, said in one voice that transformation cannot be delayed any longer, however, it needed to be implemented with everyone on board.
Potato SA transformation chairperson Meshack Ndongeni believes that transformation in the potato industry is underway and added that it is not aimed only at commercial farmers, but to small-scale farmers.
Development leads to transformation
Ndongeni said through transformation, small-scale farmers are able to transition to becoming large-scale commercial farmers and create jobs and contribute to the economy.
“We as Potato SA make this journey easy for our farmers and we help farmers even get seeds for free, and this is supposed to help mitigate the potato input costs. We also provide markets for farmers and promote financial linkage,” he said.
According to National Agricultural Marketing Council (NAMC) chairperson Angelo Petersen, while transformation is a step in the right direction, regulating policies that support transformation in the sector is important.
“The world has become violent and chaotic and there is a constant speed of change, especially with technology. Geopolitical changes are increasing and we are not spared.
“Statutory measures, specifically levies, play an important role in enabling growth and development in the agricultural industry. It costs money to transform and in our local agribusiness, we need to find smarter and innovative ways to do so. Collaboration then emerges as the core of systematic transformation and business development,” he said.
Petersen stressed that by forging partnerships along the value chain and building relationships and having conversations with the government, the sector can develop a culture of innovative knowledge exchange and collective problem-solving.
“Our success hinges on our adaptability to changing technologies by accessing knowledge and different trainings and staying up to date with industry advancements,” Petersen said.
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Sustainability and youth
Medupi Shabangu, AgriSeta’s executive manager of programming and projects, highlighted the different strategic approaches to nurturing and enhancing human capital for sustainable economic growth.
“We need to focus on transformation by zooming into skills development in the youth simply because the youth are the future of this country and they cannot be left behind,” he said.
Khula chief executive officer Karidas Tshintsolo said for him, transformation is all about making transformation practical and sustainable.
“It is important to implement practical things that allow farmers to grow by giving them easier access to finance, markets, and production support.
“Practical help for growing by giving necessary and much-needed support to farmers is what Khula does in supporting transformation,” said Tshintsolo.
Simone Oliphant, the manager of Raisins South Africa, highlighted how the raisins industry dealt with transformation, and added that it is all about having a sustainable farmer.
“I help farmers by focusing on different elements in their business like their environment, whether it is livable or not, viability, expand-ability, and equability.
“I believe in transferring technology to farmers in a practical way, but I must stress the importance of partnerships. They are key, especially in farmer levy funding and partnership funding,” Oliphant said.
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