Company Announcement - The future of the agricultural sector is often debated on farmers’ days, during general council meetings, in  the media and the political arena. Not only are farmers discussing this very pertinent question, but also investors, agricultural companies and the man on the street. The latter’s involvement usually centres around where the food on his plate is going to come from in future.

According to Dawie Maree, FNB Head of Agric Marketing and Information, “There is no doubting the importance of the agricultural sector, although the fact remains that it is not the largest sector in the country. Truth be told, agriculture contributes only 2.4% to the gross domestic product, which makes it the smallest economic sector in South Africa. However, this statistic does not convey the full story and even without accurate statistics, it is still safe to argue that the broader agricultural sector’s contribution would be closer to 15% to 20%, should primary agriculture be grouped with the industries that it contributes towards or is buying from.

“Primary agriculture’s relatively small contribution to the economy is not unusual given the state of development of the South African economy. In other countries that are also exhibiting economic growth on a large scale, like most African countries, the agricultural sector is a major player. This is in contrast to developed economies.”

The question, however, remains unanswered and to add to the conundrum: why do we love speculating about the future of agriculture so much? Naturally there is an array of reasons that stretch from direct interest in the sector to only an emotional connotation to the soil due to culture or background. Whatever the reasons, the fact is that agriculture is important to all of us.
Maree says the high average age of local farmers (statistics are once again a little vague, but it seems to be above 60 years old) is another regular point of discussion among interested parties, as well as stakeholders in the farming community. He adds that, this is seemingly a worldwide trend, as all farmers apparently tend to lean towards the older generation. It appears that agriculture is not attractive enough... or is it?

“In my opinion, the age debate isn’t entirely accurate, especially if one observes the attendees at key events such as NAMPO and the Rysmierbult Farmers’ Association’s Green Day. Both these events were very well represented by the younger generation and it would be fair to say that the average age was in the region of 45-to-50 years, compared to the above-60 average age mentioned in the statistics. One also has to note that younger farmers, as well as younger company representatives, were involved with these two gatherings.

“Technology undoubtedly plays a big role in today’s modern age. This role extends to the agricultural sector. FNB is known for its innovation and technological progress. The Bank encourages and welcomes young farmers into the agriculture community. It is exactly here where the younger farmers are at the forefront of innovation. They seem to embrace, employ and market technology to such a degree that it allows this technology to be the game changer and to continuously propel the industry forward.  The future of this very important economic sector is extremely positive and FNB Agriculture is proud to be a part of it,” concludes Maree.