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CHAPTER 2
Manufacturers of sorghum malt had to pay a special levy to the Board on the malt
they sold. The proceeds of the levy were paid into a special levy fund that was
mainly used to cover losses with sorghum exports.
Intervention scheme
The Maize Board’s report on the sorghum industry in 1973 mentioned an interven-
tion scheme that was introduced when the export prices of sorghum were lower
than those of yellow maize, which usually was the case. If that difference was
greater than the difference in the respective values of the two grains as animal
feed, the Maize Board made sorghum available at a discount for use in animal feed
as an alternative to yellow maize. The discount was based on the difference in the
feed values of the individual products.
This meant that larger quantities of yellow maize could be exported for a better net
result. The net financial effect of the transaction would then be distributed equally
between the between the sorghum and the maize industry.
Self-determination
A growing need for self-determination in the sorghum industry eventually led
to negotiations between the National Sorghum Committee of the South African
Agricultural Union, the National Marketing Council and the Minister of Agriculture.
The main argument in favour of the establishment of an independent Sorghum
Board was that the industry was so big that it should be given the right to handle
its own marketing. The argument was supported by the National Sorghum Com-
mittee and recommended by the National Marketing Council, which convinced
the Minister to establish a control board for the industry.
The Minister of Agriculture at the time, Mr Greyling Wentzel, announced on
22 November 1985 that an independent marketing council for the sorghum industry
would be established. The new Sorghum Scheme that was announced on 31 Janu-
ary 1986 was still a voluntary floor-price scheme that applied to the whole country.
That ended the Maize Board’s control over the marketing of sorghum. The Sorghum
Board carried out the functions that it took over with respect to the marketing of
sorghum until control boards were abolished in 1997.
During this period, sorghum marketing was run with little interference and
the Sorghum Board was regarded as a precursor to deregulation. The Board’s
marketing arrangements, including the proposed floor price, were submitted to
the Minister of Agriculture for approval every year.
The agricultural co-operatives continued to act as agents of the Sorghum Board to
receive and consign sorghum and for the payments that had to be made to producers.
Mission and objectives
The main objective of the Sorghum Board was to promote long-term stability and
growth in the sorghum industry.
The objectives of the Sorghum Board were:
• To organise the marketing of sorghum and sorghum products, including their
export, according to the provisions of the Marketing Act and the Sorghum
Scheme.
• To promote or stimulate the demand for sorghum and sorghum products in
accordance with the Marketing Act and the Sorghum Scheme, whether inside
or outside the RSA.
Functions and powers
The main functions and powers of the Sorghum Board were:
• To provide market information.
• To buy and sell sorghum or sorghum products at the price or on the basis approved
by the Minister.
• To administer the surplus-removal scheme.
ON 30 APRIL 1973 A
TOTAL OF 20 SORGHUM
AGENTS HAD BEEN
APPOINTED.
The cultivation of sorghum for seed pur-
poses.