Building the ecological pyramid of grain resilience

South Africa's grain sector is undergoing rapid change as climate pressure, shifting crop profitability, and widening technology gaps reshape production patterns across several provinces.

- – Octavia Avesca Spandiel

Within the Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP), the Research and Technology Working Group (RTWG) has become a key driver of efforts to stabilise the grain industry by strengthening resilience from the ground up.

RTWG chairperson and Grain SA coordinator, Mahlane Godfrey Kgatle, spoke to Farmer's Weekly about the current landscape demands urgent, coordinated action.

“A grain value chain functions exactly like an ecological pyramid. Farmers and production environments form the base. If that foundation weakens, everything above it becomes unstable, from processors to retailers to consumers,” he said.

The AAMP was established as a national compact-bringing government, industry, and farmers together under one shared framework for growth, transformation, and competitiveness.

Its implementation is driven through the Grains Value Chain Round Table (GVCRT), which oversees five working groups: Research and Technology, Trade, Transformation, Infrastructure, and Policy.