South Africa, as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has committed itself to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in a bid to mitigate the effects of climate change. As a party to this convention we recognise that climate change is a global challenge that requires global commitment, hence we have a joint responsibility with other nations to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Theo Boshoff, Agbiz Manager: Legal intelligence provides more information in the linked article»    Find linked the  Carbon Budgets Final Report»

Of all the programmes falling under the umbrella term 'land reform', communal land rights have arguably been the most complicated, and certainly the most neglected of them all. For communal occupiers in the former homeland areas, legally insecure tenure has simply been a way of life for the better part of a century despite the fact that section 25 (6) provides for legally secure tenure or comparable redress. Theo Boshoff, Agbiz Manager: Legal Intelligence, provides more information»

WAS is used for water distribution management and the calculation of canal and dam operating procedures. It has been developed and refined with mainly funding from the Water Research Commission (WRC). From Vaalharts to Hartbeespoort users employ it to save time, money and water. Says Dr Gerhard Backeberg, the WRC's Executive Manager: Water Utilisation in Agriculture, "Over a period of 25 years, WAS has evolved in response to local irrigation water user requirements and to manage water use on demand." The system was designed for those irrigation schemes that operate on the demand system and distribute water through a network of rivers, canals and pipelines. The system helps to provide just the right amount of water at the right time and place, with the least water loss. T he best option for expanded implementation of WAS, is through public-private partnerships. Agribusinesses are encouraged to please discuss further with Dr Nico Benadé, or directly with the SWPN. Please peruse Water Use Efficiency article.

This week the Property Rights Alliance released the 2017 International Property Rights Index (IPRI). The Index measures the strength of physical property rights, intellectual property rights, and the legal and political environments that contain them. Covering 127 countries, 98% of world GDP, and 93% of the world's population, the Index highlights the vital role property rights play in shaping society and the global economy. Famed economist and author of The Mystery of Capital, Hernando De Soto, commented that the findings in the Index this year were "striking," and that it offered hopeful insights for world leaders tackling poverty and terrorism in their countries. The Index includes correlations between the IPRI scores and other measures of social and economic well-being. This year the IPRI ratings correlated most strongly with Global Entrepreneurship (GEI), network readiness (NRI), civic activism, the human development (HDI), the number of researchers in R&D, and environmental performance (EPI-Yale). As PRA executive director Lorenzo Montanari remarked, "property rights allow business owners, inventors, artists, and those outside the formal economy to have the true value of their assets realized, allowing them to act in their best interests - economies flourish, governance improves, and the environment benefits when property rights are clear, accessible, and enforced." 

 

Please click on 2017 IPRI Report and Press Release to peruse. "This should be mandatory reading for all" - Dr John Purchase, Agbiz CEO.

As host of a session at the Vision 2030 Summit, Agbiz facilitated a discussion on the role agribusinesses can in future play in attracting young people, especially entrepreneurs, to the agro-food value chain - Read more»

The South African machinery sales remain vibrant compared to the same period last year. This is largely attributed to the strong recovery in agricultural production. The latest tractor sales were recorded at 479 units in June 2017 - down by 3% from the previous month, but 24% higher than the corresponding period last year.  Wandile Sihlobo, Agbiz Head: Economic Intelligence, provides more information in the linked update - read more»

Government's Inclusive Growth Action Plan

On Thursday, 12 July 2016, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, released the government's Inclusive Growth Action Plan (IGAP).  Wandile Sihlobo says Agbiz is encouraged by the Minister's continuous interaction with business and the public regarding the status of the economy. "We are furthermore encouraged by the urgency shown in the IGAP by allocating timelines and responsible authorities as this will ensure accountability and monitoring of the progress.  However, we believe that the IGAP doesn't do enough to inspire investor confidence as some structural economic concerns remain unaddressed, such as governance and funding of the SOE's.  Regarding transformation in the agro-food industry, some of the emphasis is misplaced on the Regulation of Land Holding Bill, which we view as introducing a great deal of uncertainty, as it is prioritised over enabling regulation such as publishing the final Agri-BEE sector codes," Sihlobo said.   The full IGAP statement can be accessed here»

Every year, the Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) conducts the IRMSA Annual Risk Survey and also hosts the IRMSA Awards Programme.  Agbiz Grain interacted with IRMSA in 2016 to point out that agriculture did not feature as a category in their annual risk survey, nor in their awards programme.   Mariana Purnell, General Manager of Agbiz Grain, is happy to announce that IRMSA has heeded this request and that 2017 is the first year that agriculture is included by IRMSA in their Annual Risk Survey and is also considered as a separate industry for their Awards Programme  - Read more»

Johann Klopper (GWK Financial Director) has died after suffering a head injury following a robbery last week.   All of us at Agbiz would like to extend our sincerest condolences to his family and his colleagues at GWK - GWK media release»

27 Farm workers are today proud owners of a 117 hectare farm. The workers are members and beneficiaries of the Sundays River Farming Trust, established in 2007.  The farms were purchased by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) under the PLAS (Proactive Land Acquisition Scheme) and the Sundays River Citrus Company (SRCC) concluded a management agreement with DRDLR to assist with the management of this farming operation - Read more»

July 11 has been set aside as World Population Day, following on a decision by the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.  Food security is a major concern, and particularly when populations continue to grow at the present rate. This is especially so in developing countries were the majority live below the poverty line, with little or no access to food.  This is a problem in South Africa too. Millions of people still go to bed hungry despite countless efforts by government and private organisations to provide aid.  In light of the alarming state, Monsanto SA has taken a stance to actively contribute to food production and security  - Read more»

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Senzeni Zokwana has placed his Director General, Mr Mike Mlengana on suspension with immediate effect pending internal investigations. Mr M Ramasodi, Deputy Director General: Agricultural Production, Health and Food Safety has been appointed to the position of the Acting Director-General with immediate effect - Media release»

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In this edition:

- BUSA Launches Business Approach to Black Economic Transformation

- BUSA membership & stakeholder engagement

This month TUTWA Consulting is focusing on cooperative multilateral efforts to improve the global economy. The feature article focuses on how to address populism, the final part in the mini-series. We also take a look at what the WEF Global Futures Council, co-chaired by TCG's Peter Draper, proposes to arrest the slide in global trade cooperation. Also included is a discussion document, published by GEG Africa, on the OECD/G20 efforts to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (global profit shifting in order to avoid taxes) - Read more»

Agbiz members are invited to participation in the dedicated "Processed Food Trade SA 2017/8" directory - More information»