One of the largest insurance companies in South Africa, Hollard, held its third Women’s Voice in Agriculture awards, recognising women’s impact in areas from primary farming and research to business, food security, and community upliftment.
According to Andries Wiese, head of agriculture at Hollard Insure, women’s voices in agriculture reflect the kind of connected thinking needed to support the sector’s future.
“Agriculture does not operate in a linear fashion. It is an ecosystem of farmers, brokers, researchers, agribusinesses, communities, financiers, logistics partners and many others whose work is deeply connected. Our role is to understand those connections and help the sector navigate risk in a more informed, practical and sustainable way,” Wiese said.
Cementing women’s voices
Wiese added that the women recognised through the competition bring insight and experience that can help the broader industry better understand how the sector is changing.
“The women being celebrated here are helping the sector connect the dots between innovation and implementation, between risk and resilience and between commercial sustainability and community impact. Their work gives the industry a richer view of what agriculture needs now and what it will need next.
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“This is in line with the insurer’s shared value approach: doing business in a way that creates meaningful impact for clients, partners and communities, while strengthening the sectors in which it operates,” he said.
Terryn Palani, chief people officer at Hollard, noted that the agricultural sector understands that nothing of value grows overnight.
“Every field begins with someone preparing the soil, planting a seed, protecting something fragile and trusting that the seed which cannot be seen yet will one day blossom into thriving vegetation. If we want to see more women leading the agriculture sector tomorrow, we have to cultivate them today,” Palani said.
Johann Pretorius, director at Future Agri Perspective Group, explained the rationale behind the initiative and its vision to support the growth of women-led agricultural enterprises and initiatives.
Pretorius said, “When I conceptualised the awards, I looked for like-minded organisations like Hollard who share my values of supporting the agricultural sector.
“Our partnership with Hollard was a meeting of minds and represented shared synergies between parties that seek to foster the development of the agricultural ecosystem.”
Celebrating female leadership
An independent panel of adjudicators selected the top five finalists, which were the following:
- Grietha Van Rensburg: Rural safety and livestock theft
- Boniswa Kuhle Dlamini: Farmer development
- Christel Basson: Advocacy for rural development
- Carla Myburgh: Leading the future of agriculture
- Petru Fourie: The invisible link (animal feed)
Petru Fourie was the third-place winner, followed by Christel Basson as the runner-up and Carla Myburgh as the overall winner. In accepting the accolade, Myburgh encouraged women entrepreneurs across the agricultural sector to use their influence to drive meaningful change.
“For my part, I intend to do exactly that. I will continue to champion women’s inclusion and empowerment in agriculture while keeping my feet on the ground and my eyes on the horizon,” Myburgh said.
Special recognition
The Women’s Voice in Agriculture programme also honoured several leaders with Special Recognition Awards for their exceptional contribution to the advancement of South Africa’s agricultural ecosystem. The recipients of the awards were:
- Rona Beukes, economist at the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries
- Wiana Louw, general manager of Southern African Grain Laboratory (SAGL)
- Fhumulani Ratshitanga, chief executive officer of Fruit South Africa
- Dr Renee Prins, founder and director of CenGen, and former extraordinary associate professor at the department of genetics, Stellenbosch University
- Annelize Crosby, head of legal intelligence at Agbiz
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