12
e-Newsletter
27/2019
12 July 2019
Land reform: Motlanthe warns of 'anarchy and chaos' if property rights aren't protected

Speaking at a dialogue about a mooted agricultural development agency facilitated by former constitutional negotiator Roelf Meyer in Pretoria, Motlanthe said there is no need to amend  section 25 of the Constitution to enable expropriation in the public interest because the country's supreme law already provides for that. "If property is not protected you destroy value, and if there's no value then you won't have an economy driving forward. People won't invest effort and resources in building assets. And if you think about it properly, if property is not protected by law, society as we understand it today, will disappear because the kind of anarchy and chaos that would ensue is difficult to imagine," Motlanthe said. Read the full report  in the linked Media 24 article.
Conference puts the spotlight on a better agri trade deal for Africa

The overarching theme of  the 2019 Agribusiness Africa Conference hosted by  Farmer's Weekly this week, was market access, and one of the key discussion topics was how to secure a better deal for African countries within the global agricultural trade environment. During the four sessions, speakers and a range of stakeholders from across the agriculture, agribusiness and trade platforms delved into the dynamics of trade between farm gate and domestic, regional and international markets. Agbiz CEO Dr John Purchase was one of the panellist in the last session of the day which provided an analysis of how South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are performing compared with their competitors in the Southern Hemisphere in terms of putting in place trade agreements for agricultural produce. Earlier in the day, Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo moderated the panel discussion with a focus on local market access. Themes discussed during this session included accessing local informal markets, the South African produce markets and the South African retail sector. The session also explored the barriers to establishing more efficient rural and domestic markets. 
IFAMA Conference focuses on e-commerce and agri-food value chain transformation

The 2019 IFAMA World Conference was hosted in Hangzhou from 22 to 26 June 2019. The conference focused on e-commerce and agri-food value chain transformation. Agbiz CEO Dr John Purchase was invited as panellist in a session on land use tenure, governance and land policies. The panel discussed the situation in China and looked at similarities/differences with Latin America, India and Southern Africa - all land reform hot spots. Prof. Johan van Rooyen from Stellenbosch University chaired a panel discussion on the prospects of e-commerce and trade in African agribusiness. Three South Africans featured in this panel: Prof. Andre Louw, Dr Danie Jordaan and DrMelissa vd Merwe, all hailing from the University of Pretoria. Theunis Oberholster from Stellenbosch University, one of the South African students who participated in the Student Case Competition, gives his impression of the conference in the linked report. Theunis' travelling cost was sponsored by Santam. 
Feathers fly as Competition Commission rejects merger for SA's biggest ostrich firms

Two of the largest companies in the ostrich industry are heading to the Competition Tribunal in a bid to have a decision by the Competition Commission - to prohibit their merger - overturned.  The Commission earlier prohibited the merger between Mosstrich and Klein Karoo International, the Competition Tribunal said in a statement on Monday. According to the Tribunal, the Commission found that the merger would result in a "near monopoly" in the market for ostrich meat and feathers. Please click here for the original Fin 24 report.
POLICY AND LEGISLATION
Here's how climate change law will affect the way you do business in South Africa

Climate_AGR
Besides adapting to the more visceral but seemingly far-off climate crisis effects such as sea-level rise, drought, flooding, climate refugees and resource shocks, South African businesses (and the economy) are going to be affected by the intensifying legislation and legal activism around climate change. What do we already know? And what might be coming from our lawmakers, as well as market and civil society policing agencies? The linked article on Daily Maverick provides a summary of climate change legislation.
AGRIBUSINESS RESEARCH
Climate change adds to uncertainty over global maize supplies

Erratic weather conditions and more frequent droughts and floods are exacerbating uncertainty in the agricultural sector. While these have largely been a phenomenon of sub-Saharan Africa and Asian countries, the Americas are also starting to experience these harsh conditions.
The hallmark of changing climate in 2019 has been the prolonged excessive wet weather conditions in the US, which led to delayed plantings in a number of areas. By mid-June 2019 there were fears of possible tight global maize supplies, which saw maize prices rally because of slow plantings. Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo gives more detail in the linked article written for and first published in Business Day.
The agricultural value chain and the climate crisis

The effects of the changing climate, which is, of course, a global challenge, have been felt in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia in the recent past. This has been through erratic rainfalls and more frequent occurrences of droughts and floods.  For countries whose economies are largely dependent on agricultural fortunes, the impact of climate change has largely been felt through smaller harvests, poorer grazing conditions for livestock and ultimately food price inflation.  However, less discussed but equally important is the impact of climate change on value-chain industries such as agricultural inputs and equipment providers, agricultural financiers, and food processing companies, amongst others. Wandile Sihlobo elaborates in the linked article, written for and first published on Daily Maverick.
The launch of the operational phase of the AfCFTA is a beacon of hope for trade with the rest of the continent

It is encouraging that the presidents of the world's two biggest economies, the US and China, managed to reach a truce in their trade war during talks on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Osaka. There had been concerns over the softening of global economic growth, underlined by trends in the first half of 2019 as trade and manufacturing decelerated.  Current forecasts point to 2.6% global growth in 2019. This is the weakest growth since the global financial crisis, which is emblematic of the extent of the negative effects of the trade war and heightened policy uncertainty on business confidence. Dr Michael Ade, chief economist of the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa, Dr Tinashe Kapuya, an agricultural economist and trade policy analyst, and Wandile Sihlobo co-authored the linked article, written for and first published in the Business Day.
OTHER NEWS
Policy innovation for transforming Africa's food system with digital technologies

This year, The Malabo Montpellier Forum focused on digitalization in African agriculture. The launch of the MaMo Panel's fourth report on Digitalization in African Agriculture, 25 June 2019 in Kigali, Rwanda was attended by representatives at the ministerial level, senior executives of leading global development agencies and members of the Malabo Montpellier Panel. During the Forum participants discussed the policy, institutional and programmatic factors which have led to remarkable progress in several African countries and shared lessons that can be learned across borders. The technical report  Byte by byte: policy innovation for transforming Africa's food system with digital technologies  analyses the experience of African countries which are at the forefront of the application of digital innovations in the agriculture sector. If used in the right way, digitalization will be a major pillar of the future successful growth and transformation of Africa's agriculture sector. The report focuses on institutional innovations and policy and programme interventions and provides critical insights on how to achieve those targets. The report summarizes the key findings of a systematic analysis of what seven African countries at the forefront of progress on digitalization of the agriculture sector have done right: Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Rwanda. Turn to page 60 of the linked report for the recommendations.
NWK helps WAU to empower women

The quilt project of the Women's Agricultural Union (WAU) in Delareyville can now achieve even greater heights thanks to the purchasing of 10 sewing machines and an overlocker by NWK's Corporate Marketing and Communication department.  Women of this WAU branch are teaching about 20 women of the local Atamelang community - of whom most are unemployed - sewing skills with which they can earn an additional income. Press release
News from SAPPO

African swine fever and the five reasons why you should be at this year's South African Pork Producers' Organisation (SAPPO) AGM and Conference features in the latest SAPPO Weekly Update. Please click here for the latest edition.
The latest news from AFMA

The latest edition of the quarterly magazine of the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) - the AFMA Matrix - features the latest news in the animal feed industry. The latest  AFMA e-News covers highlights of articles published in the latest AFMA Matrix magazine, as well as other news relevant to the wider industry and value chains.
The latest news from Vinpro

The July edition of Vinpro News offers all the latest news from the wine industry. 
News form Agri Western Cape

The latest edition of Agri Western Cape's newletter - Agri Info - shares the latest news in Western Cape agriculture.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Save the date: Agbiz AgriBEE Workshop

Agbiz will be hosting a workshop on AgriBEE on 2 August 2019. Topics for discussion will include feedback relating to the latest proposals relating to an industry norm as well as a general discussion on AgriBEE as requested by members at the Council meeting held on 26 April. More detail will be provided in due course.
PMA Fresh Connections: SA Conference and Trade Show  
30-31 July 2019 | Century City | Cape Town


Emerging Farmers and Agro Processing Conference 2019
30-31 July 2019 | CSIR International Convention Centre | Pretoria

Allergen Workshop
30 July 2019  | Emperors Palace | Kempton Park
 
Global Trade Show of Networking and Match-Making South Africa 2019 (GTS 2019) 
29 to 31 July 2019 | Gallagher Convention Centre | Midrand

Agbiz Grain 2019 Symposium 
14 August 2019  |  CSIR International Convention Centre | Pretoria

Global Trade Show of Networking and Match-Making South Africa 2019 (GTS 2019)
29 to 31 July 2019 | Gallagher Convention Centre | Midrand
First African Conference on Edible Insects
14-16 August 2019  | Harare | Zimbabwe

Fertasa Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition Symposium
Theme: "Back to basics for the future"
21 & 22 August 2019  |CSIR International Convention Centre | Pretoria 
Peritum Agri-HR Summit 2019
21-22 August 2019 Bloemfontein

ARC Agri Indaba
29-30 August 2019 | Animal Production Campus Irene | Pretoria

PSA Seed Growers' Forum & PSA Congress
17 & 18 September 2019 | Cape Sun Hotel  | Cape Town

AFMA Forum 2020
Theme: "Explore today for a better tomorrow"
3-5 March 2020 | Sun City | South Africa

Agritech Africa
17-19  June 2020 | Cape Town International Convention Centre  | Cape Town
AGBIZ MEMBERSHIP
Why join Agbiz?
  • Agbiz is the only organisation that serves the broader and common over-arching business interests of agribusinesses in South Africa.
  • Agbiz addresses the legislative and policy environment on the many fronts that it impacts on the agribusiness environment.
  • Agbiz facilitates considerable top-level networking opportunities so that South African agribusinesses can play an active and creative role within the local and international organised business environment.
  • Agbiz research provides sector-specific information for informed decision-making.
  • Agbiz newsletter publishes members' press releases and member product announcements.

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