Drought Aid – AFGRI shows true meaning of slogan “Together we make it possible”

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AFGRI, the leading agricultural services and processing company is stepping up to assist livestock farmers feeling the brunt of the drought conditions. Two AFGRI Animal Feeds products, Production Lick 25 and Herbitech are being made available to customers at discounted prices.

“This is in an effort to support our livestock farming customers, as we know the challenges they currently face,” said Chris Venter, Chief Executive Officer of AFGRI.

The feed is suitable for cattle and sheep on low quality grazing as a supplement and will improve weight gain in young animals. It provides optimal quantities of quality natural protein, minerals, trace minerals and energy for economic utilisation of low quality roughages. The feed further more maintains body condition and supports reproduction on low quality grazing.

AFGRI Animal Feeds is known for the highest standards of technology and science which are used to produce quality food.

“We know only too well, the pressure that a drought places on the farming community. Although we are unable to solve the current situation, we can play a part, in alleviating some of the pressure by providing support as best we can,” said Venter.

In addition AFGRI, through its’ Financial Services subsidiary Unigro, has assisted a number of farmers unable to repay annual facilities through the provision of carry-over finance. This alleviates, to some extent, the cashflow pressure which the farmers currently face.

“In times such as these we need to be able to empathise with our customers and ensure that we are a support to them,” concluded Venter.

AFGRI Equipment buys TTS Agri

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Leading agricultural services and processing company, AFGRI, has announced the acquisition of Truck & Tractor Specialists Agri (“TTS Agri”), a John Deere dealership based in Polokwane, Limpopo. The acquisition, which will be made by the group’s Equipment Division (“AFGRI Equipment”), is in line with the group’s strategy of being the preferred supplier of premium agricultural equipment, services and solutions in Africa.

“AFGRI Equipment is fast establishing itself as a reliable brand across Africa, and the acquisition of TTS Agri will increase the division’s area of operation right up to the border with Zimbabwe and Botswana, expanding existing operations. AFGRI Equipment will then operate throughout the north-eastern part of South Africa, as well as in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Ghana.” says AFGRI CEO, Chris Venter. AFGRI Equipment also operates the largest John Deere dealership in Western Australia.

Patrick Roux, the Managing Director of AFGRI Equipment, adds: “The Limpopo province is an irrigation area and the market is very stable.  Our entry into this market will give AFGRI Equipment additional diversification locally and it will connect our operations in South Africa with those in Zimbabwe.”

AFGRI, through its Harvest Time emerging farmer training programme, will also aim to become more active across the country. A large portion of emerging farmers reside in the northern part of the country.

“The Harvest Time programme has various components aimed at ensuring sustainability. We are not just about training – the programme includes funding options to buy tractors and agricultural inputs, but has a substantial mentorship component. It is the combination of these elements which ensures sustainability,” concludes Venter.

AFGRI signs collaboration agreement with National Collateral Management Services (NCML) of India

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AFGRI, a leading agricultural services and processing company, today announced a collaboration with NCML, India’s leading post-harvest agriculture management firm.

Chris Venter, CEO of AFGRI said that, “The importance of this landmark agreement is that the partnership draws on the respective strengths of both organisations and that AFGRI is able to extend its footprint onto the Asian continent.” AFGRI is currently operational in South Africa, 34 other African countries, Australia, the United Kingdom and in the USA.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two parties on 6 November 2015.

AFGRI’s subsidiary Collateral Management International (“CMI”) together with AFGRI Grain Management have achieved wide coverage on the African continent, coupled with established credentials at many local and international banking groups. “This, together with the fact that Fairfax Financial Holdings is a large shareholder in both companies, demonstrates how the extraction of these synergies can help move AFGRI along the path of greater expansion,” Venter said.

The advantages to AFGRI include a wider footprint with the ability to ensure grain flows across the continents when imports or exports are required. For both parties’ downstream benefits include value-add processing such as milling and crushing of grains and seeds as well as access to products such as weather-based crop insurance.

Both companies have experience in dealing with small scale farming operations as well as large commercial businesses and this expertise will benefit the collaboration.

The collaboration will include all services associated with collateral management such as inspection, testing and certification, grain management and marketing, trade finance and precision farming which includes geo mapping, crop estimation and weather intelligence. It also includes aspects of cross-border trade. Venter went on to explain that this collaboration is meaningful for AFGRI as it involves three divisions namely CMI, Grain Management and GeoAgro (in which AFGRI has a 50% shareholding). “This collaboration demonstrates the strength of AFGRI coupled with our ability to support our underlying fundamental – food security,” Venter explained.

It is expected that the agreement will aide trade, especially with regard to agricultural and food products between India and Africa.

Venter concludes by saying that, “Our vast experience in agriculture in South Africa is where our roots will remain. This collaboration is demonstrating how valuable our experience is and how, across continents, we can share ideas for a common goal.”

Exciting new finance solution for emerging farmers and Agric Part-time contractors

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John Deere Financial, Zanaco, Zambia National Farmers Union and AFGRI closed an alliance which is marked as a milestone in Zambia enabling access to finance for emerging famers. John Deere Financial has been introduced as a dedicated solution to meet the finance needs of emerging farmers for the acquisition of John Deere equipment.

This collaboration provides customers of AFGRI Zambia, (the authorised John Deere dealer in Zambia) a unique finance solution to acquire John Deere equipment.

Benefits of John Deere Financial:

 Access to professionals who understand John Deere equipment and the various business segments John Deere serves. This is now combined with a financial solution to suit the specific business needs of emergent farmers.

  • Access to a broad range of financial structures, flexible payment options, and competitive rates through the alliance with Zanaco.
  • Competitive interest rates subsidized with up to 3%. Terms & conditions apply.
  • Access to exceptional service from a dedicated team of professionals at Zanaco and AFGRI providing a one-stop shopping experience.
  • Asset backed finance (additional collateral not necessarily a requirement).
  • An added benefit is that a free fertilizer spreader is given to each purchaser if he purchases a tractor and a minimum of two implements through JDF

AFGRI’s GroCapital releases financial App for agricultural sector

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26 August 2015 – Centurion – GroCapital, part of agricultural giant AFGRI, and a provider of specialised financial solutions to the agric sector, has announced the launch of a new App that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and iTunes for Android and iOS smartphones respectively. The App, called “GroCapital Trader”, will enable users to access local and international commodity prices, as well as various currency rates. Once the user is registered he or she will also be able to call a dealer directly from the App.

“Apps such as these are essential to our clients, the majority of who are well-informed businesspeople who like to be up to date with market price movements at any given time of the day or night, and this App meets this need,” says Praveen Dwarika, head of GroCapital.

Whilst any user can register to use / download the free App, commodity and currency prices will be delayed by between 10 and 20 minutes. However, if a user is a client of GroCapital’s, they will have full access to live data when they have registered.

Clients will need to complete a form to access the live data. “Once this is done, an additional username and password will be issued to them, which will give them full access.”

Currently around 500 downloads of the App have been recorded. ““The idea was to simplify the transaction process for GroCapital’s clients, allowing them to follow the commodity and currency markets, phone their dealer and transact immediately.”

Dwarika adds that although the App can be used by the general public, there is a slight delay on the prices for non-registered users.

“So far the reaction from clients has been extremely positive, and we’re confident that use of the App will continue to grow, given the convenience it offers users.”

 

Contact:                               Praveen Dwarika, Managing Director: GroCapital

Tel:                                         011-063-2454

Email:                                    praveendwarika@grocapital.co.za

Website:                              new.afgri.antsneversleep.com

Account:                              Keyter Rech Investor Solutions

Contact:                               Vanessa Rech                                                    Lynne Bothma

Tel:                                         087-351-3814 or 083-307-5600                    087-351-3815 or 082-920-4395

Date:                                     26 August 2015

AFGRI strengthens focus on grain business through sale of poultry business and PIC provides funding for transaction

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AFGRI, the leading agricultural solutions and industrial foods company, together with the Public Investment Corporation (“PIC”) today announced the sale of AFGRI Poultry, as well as AFGRI’s Kinross Animal Feeds Mill (“Kinross Mill”), to AFPO Consortium Proprietary Limited (“AFPO”), a Black Economic Empowerment consortium (“the BEE consortium”) led by Matome Maponya Investments (Proprietary) Limited (“MMI”). The PIC funded the acquisition. AFGRI Poultry has been renamed Daybreak Farms, and is now owned 54% by AFPO Consortium; 36% by the PIC on behalf of its clients, and 10% by employees and management.

Chris Venter, CEO of AFGRI, said “AFGRI’s strategic vision is to drive food security across Africa.  Our focus is to enhance AFGRI’s position in the grain value chain, and this transaction is another step toward that.”

He went on to elaborate that the divestiture is in line with a strategic decision to concentrate efforts on its core grain businesses and position the company for growth. “From a financial perspective the transaction enables AFGRI to reduce its gearing levels, fund priority businesses and reduce overall debt,” Venter said.

“AFGRI’s remaining foods and processing businesses are well aligned to grain commodities,” he went on to say.

The acquisition of Daybreak Farms by AFPO Consortium represents a landmark transaction for black ownership in the agriculture sector, and has created the first significant black owned enterprise in this sector. Agriculture is a key sector of the South African economy, and constitutes a vital employment provider, especially in rural areas, as well as a sustainable source of foreign exchange and inward investment. It is estimated that more than 40% of South Africa’s total population is dependent on this sector.

Daybreak Farms is a mature, well-established and integrated poultry business with critical mass and a fully capitalised infrastructure which compares very favourably to South Africa’s other commercial suppliers of chicken.  The company processes over a million birds per week, and the business includes the growing and processing of broilers into fresh as well as frozen whole birds, individually frozen birds and portions.  The inclusion of established feed milling operations in the transaction ensures an integrated supply of specialist feeds for the process of growing chickens.

Chief Executive Officer of the PIC, Dr Daniel Matjila, says: “The funding was made possible with allocation from three of the PIC’s clients, the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Commissioners. These clients have a socially responsible investment mandate, which seeks to achieve two important outcomes, namely: to generate financial returns, whilst at the same time contributing to job creation.”

“This transaction is important in that it enables previously excluded groups of people to participate in the poultry industry.  The planned expansion of the operations will contribute to food security, with more jobs created.  Above all, this transaction is in line with our clients’ mandates,” adds Dr Matjila.

In addition, AFGRI Poultry sold some of its in-house farms to black farmers which increases supply from black farmers to over 20%. The consortium is excited about the opportunity of expanding the poultry business and growing its supply into new markets.

Mr. Kholofelo Maponya, the Chief Executive Officer of Daybreak Farms, says: “We are excited about this opportunity to participate in a critical sector such as poultry. We are, in particular, looking forward to contributing to food security here in South Africa whilst at the same time creating jobs in the communities in which we will be operating.”

Venter went on to say, “This transaction is agreed in the spirit of ensuring job stability for employees and as such no retrenchments or job losses are expected to take place. This is an important undertaking for both parties.”

“We are pleased with the transaction as AFPO will be a significant poultry producer in South Africa and will benefit from ownership of the Kinross Mill, both as a direct benefit to the poultry operation as well as having the ability to provide animal feed to third-parties,” Venter concluded.

Dorp van die Jaar 2015 finalists

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Congratulations to all the finalists in this year’s Dorp van die Jaar competition. All the best for the remainder of the competition.

Click here for voting details

Petrus Steyn

Newcastle

Swakopmund

Meyerton

Middleburg

Thabazimbi

Wellington

Jeffreys Bay

Douglas

Dorp van die Jaar semi finalists

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We look forward to visiting the various towns which proceed to the finals

Innovative Partnerships Stimulate Investment in Small Scale Agribusiness

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When the tractor at AA Ataqwaah Enterprise broke down for the last time in 2011, Managing Director Abdulazziz Munkaila did not know how he was going to accommodate the 50 farmers around Zabzugu District in Northern Ghana who depended on his services to prepare their farmlands for planting. He had tried to access mechanization services from other providers, but they proved unreliable and the high interest rates at Ghanaian banks made buying a new tractor financially impossible. Without dependable tractor services, Munkaila’s nucleus farming enterprise was forced to cease financing other agro-inputs to smallholder staple food farmers because it had become too risky.

Three years later, through a deal brokered by the USAID Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (USAID-FinGAP), AA Ataqwaah became one of fourteen “small to medium including large enterprises” (SMiLEs), working in the rice, soybeans, and maize value chains, to receive a loan from Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans (SASL), which they used to purchase a new John Deere tractor. USAID-FinGAP staff had negotiated with Danida for a low interest, guarantee-backed sum of capital worth US$3 million for USAID-FinGAP partner’s SASL to provide loans with the specific purpose of providing land preparation services. USAID-FinGAP then linked SASL and AFGRI, the local John Deere dealer, to create an appropriate tractor equipment loan product for agriculture service providers. To make the financing attractive and feasible, John Deere covers 4 percentage points of the interest charged by SASL and offers training and equipment warranties for the life of the loan. Repayment begins in July 2015 with bullet payments over three years.

“Access to the John Deere tractor has been a relief to me and smallholder farmers in the area. I plan to assist between 110 and 120 outgrowers in rice (about 100 acres) and maize (about 280 acres) during the upcoming season,” Munkaila said. “I will also cultivate 100 acres rice and 50 acres maize on my own farm.”

Now that agricultural service providers like AA Ataqwaah have the ability to provide land preparation services, they have the necessary confidence to extend new input financing to smallholder farmers. SASL has made 15 tractor loans worth almost US$450,000. Each loan represents expanded agricultural services to support on average of 200 rice and maize smallholder farmers, bringing the program’s reach to nearly 3,000.

Gerrie Jordaan, Country Director of AFGRI Ghana, who has seen sales of John Deere tractors and accessories increase by about 20%, said, “Farmers are able to buy full complements of tractor and accessories since they do not need to mobilize funds to cover 100% of the cost. Moreover, these farmers are able to buy mechanization equipment such as planters which are also financed under the same arrangement.”

USAID-FinGAP used internal staff resources to link agents already providing services and subsidies and unlock commercial financing at competitive rates. The result was successfully expanded critical agricultural services for Northern Ghana’s poorest agricultural entrepreneurs. USAID-FinGAP has discovered that, rather than investing in new subsidies or technologies, sometimes the innovation is in the bundling and linking of existing tools to create economies of scale that are commercially viable for everyone.
AFRGI Sales Manager Bernard Asamoah-Akrasi summarized it eloquently when he said, “The collaboration brokered by USAIDFinGAP is bridging the financing gap.”

 

AA Ataqwaah’s new John Deere tractor provides land preparation services to over 100 smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana.

AA Ataqwaah’s new John Deere tractor
provides land preparation services to
over 100 smallholder farmers in
Northern Ghana.

Gerrie Jordaan

Gerrie Jordaan, Country Director of AFGRI, has seen local John Deere tractor sales increase by about 20%.

 

Emerging farmers in South Africa will help take the agricultural sector into the future

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Media Release

Nation in Conversation

Nampo Harvest Day

12 – 1 5 May 2015

The vastness of South Africa, coupled with a good climate allows the country to be a leading food producer, producing sufficient food to feed the nation and export surpluses globally.

In order to ensure sustainable agricultural practices into the future, it is, however, essential that the sector invests in the development and training of emerging farmers to become more commercially viable.

South Africa’s commercial farmers form backbone to ensuring food security for our nation and economic stability. Agriculture remains one of the largest employers in the country.

AFGRI, as a leading South African agricultural services and food company, is committed to playing its part in providing support to existing large commercial farmers and contributing to the development of smaller, emerging farmers. It helps to ensure that skills, passion and talent are passed from one generation to the next. The industry needs to keep pace with technological changes, advances and changing food requirements.

Commercial farming in South Africa is a highly-complex and sophisticated business. Given the technological revolution in farming, even emerging farmers now have to be well-equipped in order to become the commercial producers of the future.

Access to finance and efficiencies is key, and land transformation remains a challenge to South African agriculture. AFGRI believes support of emerging farmer is paramount to the transformation of this sector, without losing sight of the importance of the commercial farming sector.

“Viable agriculture ensures food security, employment opportunities and forex exchange earned from exports for the country,” explains Chris Venter, CEO of AFGRI.

It is for these reasons, and in recognition of Government’s efforts to transform the agricultural production sector, that AFGRI launched its Harvest Time Investments initiative in 2012.

The Harvest Time Investments programme is targeted at micro emerging farmers and large emerging producers. It operates as a joint venture with the Vastfontein Community Centre outside Hammanskraal near Pretoria. The programme assists its members with a diverse range of practical and theoretical training over a five-year period. They also benefit from experienced mentors and tutors giving guidance throughout the entire agricultural value chain.

The emerging farmer initiative operates within the parameters of a number of strategic partnerships including seed, fertiliser and other input suppliers, mechanisation companies and a number of governmental bodies.

Direct benefits include technical skills transfer, more employment opportunities, increased personal income and community transformation.

“A pivotal aim is to assist farmers to realise their potential and that of their farms. We are convinced that this sector will continue to contribute to the development of our country and people,” says Venter.

Given its commitment to the development of the local agricultural industry, AFGRI is pleased to support the Nation in Conversation dialogue platform at Nampo 2015. “We believe Nation in Conversation champions the cause of agriculture. Wide and on-going consultation is required to move our industry into a new era,” says Venter.

Nampo Harvest Day annually draws all the relevant role players in agriculture together over a four-day period. This platform allows conversations to take place amongst key role players so that major issues affecting agricultural producers in South Africa can be brought to the fore.

AFGRI will be participating in Nation in Conversation from 12 – 16 May 2015, where topics include labour relations, land reform, availability and sustainability of natural resources, and technological integration in agriculture.

Panelists participating in the debates are well-versed on these topics. “The value AFGRI adds stems from our experience and knowledge of what is happening at a ground level in agriculture. Our sector will continue to contribute to the development of our country and its people,” ends Venter.