'Respect people' - A top farmer's winning formula

The Agricultural Writers SA Farmer of the Year for 2021, Jan le Roux, has earned himself a reputation among his staff as a perfectionist and a stickler for detail. At the same time, he believes in giving as much responsibility as possible to his 6 000 workers in order to promote empowerment. Lindi Botha visited the Le Roux Group's operation in the Western Cape to learn more about Le Roux's methods for developing an efficient workforce.

- By Lindi Botha

The Le Roux Group owns the largest grape farm in the Southern Hemisphere.

FAST FACTS

Jan le Roux is the Agricultural Writers SA Farmer of the Year 2021.

His goal is to employ as many people as is economically feasible.

He focuses on empowering his workers to provide high-quality service.

In the mid-1990s, Jan le Roux, founder of the Le Roux Group, was in discussion with then minister of water affairs and forestry, Kader Asmal, about the future of South Africa. During what started as a casual conversation, Asmal asked Le Roux what he would do for South Africa. Le Roux answered: I'll create jobs for people. At the time, he was serving as global CEO for the Pepkor Group, with only a part-time interest in farming. Having grown up on a wine farm near Paarl in the Western Cape, Le Roux bought the properties from his father and brother and became what he called a weekend farmer.

I got to a point where I realized that if the farms were going to be successful, I either needed to appoint a proper manager, or return to the farm full-time.

Finding someone who met his perfectionist standards, however, proved difficult, so Le Roux took the leap into full-time farming. Around this time, he recalled his conversation with Asmal and realized he had the ideal opportunity to make a major positive impact on the rural community in his area.

JAN LE ROUX