WINDHOEK – The current storms in the South Africa (SA) agriculture with regard to political insecurity, labour unrest, increasing poverty, crime and corruption evoked different reactions from highly reputed speakers at the SA Outlook Conference on September 30 in Pretoria.
The Conference was inter alia attended by the President of the Namibia Agricultural Union (NAU), DerekWright, the Executive Manager, Sakkie Coetzee and the Manager: Commodities, Harald Marggraff. Vusi Thembekwayo, a well-known businessperson and acknowledged international speaker, has pointed out four directives, which have to be complied with to weather the storms. They are:
- Get the truth with regard to the products which consumers want
- Be better than your opposition but not necessarily bigger
- Have a vision for the future
- Lead through successful business
In connection with this, Neil Jacobsen, the Executive Manager of Future World, SA said that the agricultural sector has to take note and adapt with the technological tsunami of the current century and that radical innovation is needed to withstand the storms. Regarding products prices, Ernst Janovsky, Head of Agricultural Business of ABSA Bank SA, forecast a sideward to upward trend in nearly all agricultural products including meat, milk and agronomic products.
Further, good news with regard to the weather was given by Johan van den Berg of Santam, who in his forecast said that that all models indicate an average rainy season, especially for the second half of the year.
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