Back to basics

As I write this, we still don’t have an election date but that hasn’t deterred our politicians, who are already electioneering. As usual, statements are being made about agriculture which bear little resemblance to reality. All we can hope for is that most of the electorate will see through the smokescreens come election day.
The grandiose ideas being postulated about agriculture got me thinking about priorities. In the fresh produce sector alone, I can think of numerous commendable causes for politicians to promote. I’m thinking of the “little” things done by thousands of South Africans of all races who collectively contribute to bettering our agricultural sector. That’s how we will succeed.
I’m not suggesting we shouldn’t have the big strategic picture in mind. That’s very important, but for it to work, the labour and commitment of all the people within the agricultural community is needed.
Why don’t politicians include some down-to-earth practical ideas aimed at really building the sector from the foundations upwards? You can’t construct a building without solid foundations. As an example, I’ll use my experience in the fresh produce sector, where there’s a desperate need for more mentorship of future farmers.
Yes, there are many commercial farmers who help their emerging neighbours, but there still aren’t enough. Why not put money into a mentorship programme which ensures mentors are compensated somehow for their efforts and receive some basic training?
I know from training future farmers in many parts of the country that post-training mentorship is a critical component of the whole skills upliftment plan. As a private business, we can only offer so much. We try to help with post-training mentoring wherever we can, but we have to earn a living and free mentoring has its limitations.
If the agricultural sector could tap into a pool of resources, human and financial, it would go a long way to helping lay those foundations. I’m sure most commercial farmers would be prepared to assist their future farmer colleagues if there was an incentive for them – not a money-making incentive but a “we’ll cover your basic costs” incentive.
What politicians forget, or don’t even realise, is that all the schemes in the world will come to nothing if things at ground level aren’t managed.
The real challenges lie in making our future farmers viable, not by making promises of more this and that, but helping them with skills, knowledge and infrastructure. It’s about getting back to basics. – Mike Cordes (e-mail [email protected]).     |fw