A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME

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THE GRAIN AND OILSEED INDUSTRY OF SOUTH AFRICA – A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME ႆ
age in the basic foodstuffs in Mexico was also attributed directly to their investment
in biofuel.
In the policy document for biofuel in South Africa it is foreseen that maize will
only be approved for the manufacturing of ethanol when more certainty has been
obtained about the possibility of producing maize on underutilised soil and when
other requirements have been met.
In 2016 one of the worst droughts in more than 100 years, if not the worst, hit
South Africa. The full consequences and the effect of the drought on the avail-
ability and cost of food, job security, financial survival of producers, et cetera
will only become clear over time. Whatever those effects are, the spotlight once
more fell on the necessity of making sure that a good balance is maintained be-
tween land reform, transformation and the reality that a country like South Africa,
with its limited resources and uncertain rainfall, has to be very clear-headed in its
planning to make sure that its growing population can always be provided with
the basic staple food.
Through its involvement and initiatives mentioned above, as well as other
valuable inputs that are too numerous to discuss here, Grain SA is increas-
ingly making an important contribution towards improving the sustainability
of agricultural production in South Africa. More details about all the actions
and initiatives are published constantly in reports and articles on the website,
FOREIGN MARKETS FOR GRAIN
Before 1997 the marketing of grain in South Africa by the marketing councils was
controlled in terms of the Marketing Act. At that time the export of grain was re-
stricted to the SADC countries and a few others. There was no purposeful export
plan for South African grain, and exports took place mainly on an ad hoc basis.
Grain SA decided to address this gap and purposefully started to develop a stra-
tegic export plan for locally produced grains. This corresponds with Grain SA’s
approach to expand production, rather than to limit the supply. As a matter of fact,
the identification of potential foreign markets and the development of sustainable
export markets for grain became one of Grain SA’s main focus areas.
The long-term planning is based on the strategic export plan, and in the process
a distinction is made between so-called protocol markets and permit markets.
The drought that occurred during 2015/2016
in the summer sowing area was not the only
looming stumbling block that put pressure
on South Africa’s food security. Repeated
pronouncements by the government about
drastic land reform; the impact of load shed-
ding and the growing mining activities on
arable agricultural land followed closely on
its heels.
Sound bite: A global food crisis in 2007/2008
drew attention to food security – Mr Jannie
de Villiers.