Agribusiness Africa Conference

2019 conference sessions held on 10 July 2019

SESSION 1: Setting the scene

As improved access to domestic, regional and global markets is critical for agriculture to become an important driver of job creation and economic growth, keynote speakers will contextualise and set the scene for the discussions that follow during this session.

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SESSION 2: Barriers to more efficient rural & domestic markets

This session will focus on local market access. Themes discussed during this session will include accessing local informal markets, the South African produce markets and the South African retail sector. The session will also explore the barriers to establishing more efficient rural and domestic markets. Speakers in this session include Ayanda Kanana, CEO of the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market, and Jaco Oosthuizen, CEO of the RSA Group. These two speakers will also participate in a panel discussion alongside Dr Justy Range, head of business development at Freshmark Systems which pioneered the computerisation of fresh produce markets in South Africa.

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SESSION 3: Building regional networks for improved market access

This session will focus on solutions to strengthen regional value-chain linkages and intra-African trade. The session will also provide an expert update on the progress made in terms of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. One of the main speakers of this session will be Dr Tinashe Kapuya, trade policy advisor with Business Unity South Africa. Kapuya will give insight on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Werner de Waal, Director at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc, will speak about the legal landscape in Africa in terms of regional trade. Kapuya and De Waal will be joined in a panel discussion by Lucien Jansen, CEO of the Perishable Products Export Control Board.

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SESSION 4: Towards a better deal for Africa in international trade

This session will provide an analysis of how South Africa and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are performing compared with their competitors in the Southern Hemisphere in terms of putting in place trade agreements for agricultural produce. Speakers such as Justin Chadwick, who was recently appointed chairperson of Fruit South Africa, will also provide insights into those dynamics that have delivered a sometimes unequal playing field for African countries within the international agricultural trade environment. Chadwick will also participate in a panel discussion on this topic alongside Dr John Purchase and Tony Esmeraldo, Corteva business director for Southern Africa.