AGDA to launch at AAT

The much-anticipated Agriculture Development Agency will be officially launched at the Africa Agri Tech Conference and Expo (AAT) on 18 February 2020, to be held at the Maslow Hotel, Times Square, Menlyn Main in Pretoria.

The launch of the Agriculture Development Agency (AGDA) will also serve as the opening event of the AAT conference, which will run from 18 – 20 February and cover topics ranging from the local and international agricultural economy and access to capital, to mitigating drought conditions through sustainable climate sensitive agriculture as well as developing intra African trade in agricultural products.

AGDA is part of the Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI), which was established in April 2018 under the leadership of Dr Johan van Zyl, CEO and President of Toyota in Europe. Van Zyl was inspired by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s famous Thuma Mina call in January 2018 and based the PPGI on the hugely successful Japanese economic model. The aim is to align strategic planning between government and the private sector, in the interest of improving economic growth and the manner in which government and business work together.

There are more than 20 sectors identified by the PPGI for specific focus. These include Agriculture; Tourism; Automotive; Chemicals; Manufacturing; Energy and Renewable Energy; Construction; Pharmaceutical; Mining; Retail; ICT; Health; and Insurance. These sectors are all developing comprehensive five-year growth plans, which aim at accelerating economic growth and job creation.

The specific aims of AGDA are intended to promote greater social justice by creating enablers that will help drive sustainable land reform programmes and contribute to changing land ownership patterns in our country.

In this regard, Mr Roelf Meyer of In Transformation Initiative, which is one of the main drivers of this project, drew attention to the main objectives of the Agency, which are to promote and support access to agricultural land by black/emerging farmers, and to support the use of agricultural land and infrastructure development so as to promote land reform and food security in the country. Meyer highlighted that AGDA has the specific purpose not only to pursue these noble objectives, but also to ensure the provision of appropriate training, as well as support and assistance to emerging farmers to improve capacity and access to agricultural markets in particular.

“It is only through the pursuit of such objectives in partnership with government, focussing on a more vigorous pursuit of the noble objectives the national land reform programme, that the market failures and imperfections in building an inclusive, dynamic and competitive agricultural sector, to enable all our people who have ambitions to work in agriculture can be achieved,” Meyer said.

Ms Gloria Serobe, CEO of WipCapital and also one of the leading inspirations and contributors to the creation of AGDA remarked that, “the Agricultural Development Agency must have a well-developed social conscience and it must be institutionalised in a manner that will ensure it is always dedicated to such imperatives.”

Governance of AGDA will be led by a board constituted of an equal number of representatives from Government and the private sector, working together to achieve the common goal of sustainable and accelerated land reform to the benefit of South Africa and all its people.

For more information and interview opportunities contact:

Malcolm Ferguson 082 850 7084, mf30@mweb.co.za
Leona Archary 082 577 5551, Leona.Archary@bigengroup.com

Africa Agri Tech backed by ag giant AFGRI

The AFGRI Group has announced its support for the AFRICA AGRI TECH conference and expo, which will be hosted in Pretoria from 18 to 20 February 2020. The event promises to be one of the highlights on the 2020 agricultural calendar and will showcase the latest technologies transforming agriculture and related value chains, whilst addressing the issue of our new reality – the tech revolution: Industry 4.0.

Encompassing amongst other things, the Internet of Things and Big Data, automation, artificial intelligence, there has never been a more relevant time to see what possibilities lie in wait to further agricultural production and aid farmers in South Africa.

AFGRI Group CEO, Chris Venter, expressed his delight in partnering with the event. “We believe that technology and digitalisation will become ever more important. The changes it has effected in everyday lives in terms of markets and production continuously take new shape, almost daily. We feel that an expo of this nature, focusing on advancements in science and technology, and where discussion can take place, is long overdue and most relevant. We are not merely watching how markets get disrupted, we want to be part of the disruption to bring new innovations to our industry and our clients alike.”

AFRICA AGRI TECH will also shed some light on the near future, helping executives and farmers alike, to develop practical and realistic roadmaps for driving this transformation over the next five years.

The event will be hosted at the Sun Arena and Maslow Hotel, Time Square, Menlyn Maine.

For more information, contact Pula, Bella, Werner or Ronel on 011 465 0099 or visit africaagritech.co.za