Agriculture for the People

Agri Mega Week 2011 Launch: ‘Agriculture for the People’

Agri Mega Week 2011 was officially launched during a gala event at Lemoenkloof in Paarl. Premier Helen Zille; Prof. Mohammed Karaan, Dean of the faculty for Agricultural Sciences at Stellenbosch University; sponsors; and leaders of agricultural services- and commodity organisations, were among those present at the launch.

Mr. Orton King, Group Executive Director, for the Agri Mega Group, said the Expo will, this year, be focussed on producers, secondary participants, as well as consumers.
King furthermore added that the Agri Mega Group appreciates that agriculture must adapt to large scale and ever present changes, and that the Agri Mega Group helps in this regard. “We cannot plough with oxen and harvest with donkeys, if we need to feed Nations. To meet the demands of sustainable production and food security, we must adapt. Agri Mega utilises, among others, Agri Mega Week to make a contribution in this regard,” King said.

King added that agriculture is reluctant to change, and that plans need to be made to address this. He said that agriculture is rife with both bureaucratic and technocratic leaders that act politically. “Agricultural leaders will have to increasingly employ a visionary outlook and stance in order to offer the industry a sustainable future. Leaders with vision must come to the fore, and if you know of such people, they must be encouraged to take the lead.”

King said, the country expects agriculture to change, and that the time for transformation and reformation is running out: “If we do not utilise the limited time at our disposal efficiently, land acquisition and economic collapse both become a possibility. With good leadership, and through activating the ‘Mandelas’ in the agricultural arena, we can create a positive sector and enter the future with good expectations.”
He emphasised that Agri Mega is an effective instrument for change and the delivery of professional services for agricultural practises. “Agri Mega Week, is not merely an expo, festival, or a show; it is a mechanism for change.”

Agri Mega Week 2011’s theme is ‘Agriculture for the People,’ and according to King, farm workers, producers, and consumers of all colours and backgrounds will be attending this event. “Each and everyone that attends Agri Mega Week will come to realise the value of agriculture, and understand that hungry people cannot work, play, or manage effectively. Hungry people cannot adequately facilitate political change. Therefore, agriculture must be sustainable,” King said.

Agri Mega Week will take place between 14 and 16 September at Mega Park, Bredasdorp.