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Newsletter
Agbiz Congress Edition |
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14 June 2012
The Agricultural Business Chamber has recently re-branded. This is the first Agbiz eNewsletter that incorporates the new brand identity.
This special Agbiz Congress eNewsletter is loaded with congress news. The theme of the Congress was "Investing in the Future". |
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Agricultural Business Chamber defines the way forward with new brand identity
The Agricultural Business Chamber launched its new brand identity last week at its biennial Congress in the Drakensburg.
In future the term 'Agbiz' will replace the acronym 'ABC' as the brand name for general use.
"Agbiz is short, powerful and already associated with the domain name of our website and e-mail adresses. Our new slogan is "The way to prosperity'. The term 'prosperity' refers to growth, success and a promising future. 'Way' refers to the Agbiz strategic imperative of advocating and facilitating a favourable environment for all agribusinesses in South Africa and even further abroad," says Dr John Purchase, Chief Executive of Agbiz. Click here to read more»
Picture: Dr John Purcase (Agbiz CEO) and Mr Schalk Pienaar (Agbiz Chairperson).
Click here to view how the Agbiz brand and icon were developed»
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Agbiz elects its office bearers  The Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) re-elected Mr Schalk Pienaar as Chairperson of the association. Dr Tobias Doyer, Head of Santam Broker Services North and National Brokers was elected as Deputy Chairperson of Agbiz. The other members of the Agbiz Executive Committee are Mr Willie du Plessis, Head of Standard Bank Agriculture and Mr Danie Marais, Managing Director of NWK Limited. Dr John Purchase, Chief Executive Officer of Agbiz, serves on the Executive Committee as ex officio member.
Picture: Dr John Purchase, Mr Schalk Pienaar and Dr Tobias Doyer. |
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Mr Corwyn Botha awarded Agbiz honorary life chairmanship
 Mr Corwyn Botha was awarded Agbiz honorary life chairmanship, at the Gala Dinner of the Congress, for his outstanding leadership as chairman of Agbiz for the period 2006 - 2010. During this period Agbiz has moved to a fully autonomous and independent association, which is an exceptional milestone.
In his thank you address, Mr Botha said: "This is a high point in my world. The highest - indeed, my world, the world I know and cherish. To me the top echelon of agriculture, the agriculture in which I partook, that I lived and enjoyed." Click to read the full thank you address»
Picture: Mr Corwyn Botha (centre), his wife Annelie and Mr Schalk Pienaar (Agbiz Chairman). |
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Student Case Competition a refreshing addition to Congress programme
 Agbiz and the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) hosted the Agbiz/IFAMA Agribusiness Student Case Competition during the Congress. 16 Top agricultural economics and agribusiness students from major universities across the country were selected to participate in this initiative, endorsed by IFAMA. For the competition the students were divided into 4 teams. Each team received the same case concerning the situation a real company (in this case Mosstrich Ltd) has to address. The teams were given six hours to analyse the business case and to propose a solution to help the industry survive the crisis. Read more»
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Future of the global food business 
Prof Marcos Fava Neves (Market Strategist from the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil) addressed the Agbiz Congress on the future of the global food business.
He emphasised the importance of knowing and evaluating value chains as well as the critical importance of technology and collective action. "In a bio-era everything is coming from the farm," says Prof Neves.
Some key issues highligted by Prof Neves were:
* The Indian domestic food market is expected to grow by nearly 40% of the current market size by 2015. * Africa represents about 60% of the potentially available cropland in the world.
* To feed itself for the next half century, the world needs an agricultural revolution in Africa.
* While consumers in rich countries dispose of 220 million metric tons of food waste a year, almost 1 billion people in developing countries go hungry. * South Africans' love for fast food grows. * Obesity could effect 42% of Americans by 2030.
* Real time farm allows you to see your food, learn how it was grown and visualise the journey it took to reach your table.
* Cheap resources underpinned economic growth for much of the 20th century. The 21st will be different.
* The petfood market is considered one of the fastest growing food industries worldwide.
* The first scheduled flights using bio-fuels were launched in 2011.
* Sugar cane bio-plastics replace oil-based plastics.
Prof Neves' book, "Surviving the global food jungle - Realities, options and strategies for South Africa", was launched at the Agbiz Congress. For more information and to order a copy of the book please contact Ms Lindie Stroebel at e-mail: lindie@agbiz.co.za. |
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Role of the National Development Plan - Vision 2030
Shaping South African agriculture and agribusinss  Dr Ferdinand Meyer, Director of BFAP and farmer from Rustenburg in the North West Province, discussed the issue of agriculture in the National Development Plan. Dr Meyer explained the potential for agriculture from a development as well as commercial farming point of view. He emphasised the need for an enabling environment, with regard to policy and legislation, to realise that potential. Dr Meyer's presentation is available to download by clicking here» |
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The role of BUSA in South Africa's Dialogue 
Mrs Futhi Ntoba, President of BUSA, discussed the importance of building a common vision for South Africa to work in a goal orientated way from different perspectives in our social dialogue.
She highlighted the importance of influencing the policy and legislation environment in reaching our goals.
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Fragile global economy: Macro-economic factors impacting on South Africa's growth and competitiveness 
Mr Rudolf Gouws, former Head Economist of RMB indicated the risks and concerns that should be looking at in terms of the local and global economy. He specially emphasized Europe's vulnerability and the impact on South Africa's agriculture, being a big export destination.
Mr Gouws says South Africa is currently not scoring the 7% growth it should, but only around 3%.
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Panel discussion on agribusiness opportunities and investment in Africa
 Experts in major financial institutions led a panel discussion on agribusiness opportunities and investment in Africa. The panel consisted of Mr Zhann Meyer (Head of Africa Agribusiness at Nedbank), Mr Mohit Arora (Director of Agriculture in Africa at Standard Bank) and Dr Hans Balyamujura (General Manager AgriBusiness Frontline and Africa at Absa Retail and Business Bank). Click the following links to access panelists' presentations:
Mr Zhann Meyer, Nedbank»
Mr Mohit Arora, Standard Bank»
Dr Hans Balyamujura, Absa Retail and Business Bank»
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Status of AgriBEE Sector Code and impact of new
B-BBEE legislation on agribusiness  Dr John Purchase, CEO of Agbiz, presented on the status of the AgriBEE Sector Code and the impact of the new B-BBEE legislation on Agribusiness. Download presentation» |
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Status of B-BBEE implementation in agribusiness sector  Mrs Lindie Stroebel, Agbiz Economic Intelligence and Finance Manager, presented on the survey conducted by Agbiz on the status of BEE implementation, as well as the priorities and challenges in this regard, amongst its members. Download presentation» |
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Cost Analysis in South African Agro-food Value Chains  Dr André Jooste, Head of t he Marketing and Economic Research Centre (MERC) at the NAMC indicated the cost drivers and cost pressures that should be looked at.
He emphasized the importance of understanding value chains and its relation to growth, poverty alleviation and food security. This will provide solutions, opportunities to design better policies and to guide investment.
Download presentation» |
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African facility for inclusive markets: Importance of inclusive and sustainable agribusiness in Africa  Mr Juergen Nagler from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) addressed opportunities to partner with private sector, especially into Africa and the development world, and making a business case out of it. Please click here to download Mr Nagler's presentation. |
Once again thank you to all the sponsors who made the Agbiz Congress possible.
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Agbiz Biennial Report |  |
"Global and local business has witnessed unheralded transformation and change since the latter part of the 1900's. Not only has the geopolitical environment shown major shifts on a worldwide scale, but business has had to contend with economic power shifts, the rise of new markets on an unheralded scale as well as domestic developments brought about by new policies and strategies to maintain pace with increasing demands for food, energy, education, expectations for improved quality of life and technology to support the 'new world', says Mr Schalk Pienaar, Agbiz Chairman in his foreword.
"Agribusiness finds itself in the midst of all this - both internationally and nationally...".
Click here to download the Chairman's report» |
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