Food certainty the main focus on Agri SA's congress agenda

Agri SA discusses the importance of creating food certainty at its congress

- Magda du Toit

A couple of years ago, adaptability was needed in the agricultural environment. Today, this is still one of the key drivers for survival in a global arena, but equally important is identifying beneficial partnerships with the ability to find co-operative and creative solutions for the many challenges facing the sector.

This ability is particularly important in creating food certainty as defined in the Agri SA congress manifest.

“Food certainty is different from food security. It is something more. Food certainty depends on the ability to buy food that is safe, available and affordable, with money earned from being employed, from viable and sustainable businesses that pay taxes that are used to build and maintain infrastructure and services. This is a sustainable view on food certainty,” said Lindi Stroebel in her opening address as programme director at the congress.

Phineas Gumede, vice-president of Agri SA, added that food certainty went further than affordability, availability or accessibility. “Infrastructure and a sustainable approach is imperative to achieving the basic level of food certainty. This is what the agriculture sector needs to not only to produce food, but to make food available in the value chain.”

He ended his welcome with a stern warning: “A country that lacks a strong organised agriculture sector supported by government and social structures will fail dismally in providing food to feed its citizens.

Jaco Minnaar, re-elected Agri SA president, stressed in his address: “As individuals and as a collective, we should all put a shoulder to the wheel to address and improve all the factors that impact food security. We can’t look back in 10 years with regret because we failed to address today’s challenges. The time to act is now.”