10 Looking back on this reporting period, I am encouraged by the remarkable tenacity of South Africa’s grain industry as a whole, despite the many challenges encountered. Producers are adapting their strategies and production practices to counter quality issues, price challenges, the removal of available chemical crop solutions from the market, Sclerotinia, variable weather patterns and remaining productive. The removal of pest remedies and other solutions from the market has left producers with little or no alternatives and where alternatives are available this has further increased production costs and reduced effectiveness. Producers delivered strong outputs under these conditions, maintained production momentum and upheld their commitment to feeding the nation even under volatile climatic and economic conditions. The industry's ability to remain productive in the face of rising input costs, weather extremes and market uncertainty affirms its critical role in national food security and economic stability. What has stood out most during this year is that grain producers have shown exceptional resilience, adaptability and innovation to survive each season after the next. Market and production conditions are not getting easier and farmers must continue to embrace improved genetics, mechanisation and precision-agriculture tools to adapt their production systems and business models to mitigate risk and maximise efficiency. Their readiness to innovate – whether through climate-smart practices, technology adoption or more strategic resource management – shows that South Africa’s grain producers are not only surviving adversity but actively shaping a competitive and sustainable future. I am however also deeply concerned about the financial strain that producers are experiencing because of high input costs and commodity prices that remain low. We are mindful that there are areas where producers face the harsh realities of meeting their financial commitments and various discussions have taken place in the second half of the reporting period with financiers regarding this situation. Grain SA is engaging with the financial sector to look at various strategies to assist farmers with their financing needs in the short and long term. In this environment, Grain SA has continued to play a pivotal role in supporting and strengthening producers’ efforts. The organisation’s advocacy, research facilitation and market information services ensured that producers remained informed, empowered and equipped to navigate an increasingly complex agricultural landscape. This is in line with the organisation's core objective and strategy of ensuring productivity and sustainability. Retained focus on input suppliers Looking forward, I believe that Grain SA must continue to strengthen its value to members through focused engagement with input suppliers to ensure access to the latest technology. South Africa is not the biggest market in the world and we need to ensure and place pressure on these partners to bring the full spectrum of solutions to the local market ensuring we remain competitive locally and in terms of global markets. Further engagements with the supply chain and supply chain partners are essential in ensuring amongst other factors that the wheat tariff is effective, grading systems work and the survival and future of the wheat industry is ensured securing sustainability for producers. Engagements will be expanded to digital capability, data management and deeper collaboration across the value chain. Message of the Chairperson INNOVATION AND UNITY – REFLECTING ON A YEAR OF PROGRESS Richard Krige
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