The actions of Agri SA are constantly focused on creating a favourable environment within which it will be possible for the farmer as entrepreneur to be financially independent.
A strong united front ...
The South African farmer has over many years established and enhanced agriculture's role in and contribution to the national economy with skill and entrepreneurship and in the process satisfied the country's primary needs, viz. the availability of sufficient supplies of quality food and fibre.
These and many other achievements can be largely attributed to the fact that South African farmers, for urgent economic reasons, joined hands and united their own interest in Agri SA and by means of collective action negotiated for themselves the best possible economic, socio-economic and security position. Agri SA represents a strong united front where the farmer's general, commodity and co-operative interests are co-ordinated within one national organisation.
The individual farmer is the life-artery of organised agriculture ...
The entire structure of organised agriculture rests with the farmer. The farmer on his land and his involvement in his farmers' association, commodity organisation and co-operative filters through the district organisation and provincial union to Agri SA on national level. This offers each farmer the opportunity to participate and also involves responsibility.
Agri SA's Constitution places no racial restrictions on membership and 40 000 commercial farmers and 45 000 small scale farmers countrywide are incorporated in Agri SA via the affiliation of their provincial union, commodity organisation and co-operative.
General issues
The highest authority within the structure of the united agricultural front lies with the representatively composed Agri SA Annual Congress, where all three legs of organised agriculture are represented. Here collective decisions are made on general issues, directives are established and the President and Vice-President elected.
The General Council, composed representatively from the Congress, provincial unions, the co-operative movement and commodity organisations, give continuous attention to matters of general interests to the farming community. The President, Vice-President, Chairman of the ACB and a representative of provincial unions and commodity organisations form the Executive Committee and make the day-to-day decisions within accepted policy.
Commodity matters
Commodity matters are handled by different forms of commodity organisations within their own specialised structures. Matters of common interests are reffered to the National Commodity Chamber.
The highest authority on co-operative matters is the biennial Agricultural Co-operative Business Chamber Congress, while the Executive handles all co-operative matters when Congress is not in session.
On national level the small and dynamic personnel corps are divided in accordance with the three legs of the organisation into a General Affairs Section, Commodity Section and Co-operative Section, under the overall guidance of the Executive Director of Agri SA. Supporting service are rendered as required to the three legs of the organisation by an expert Economic, Training and Public Relations Section respectively. Administrative and financial personnel provide the necessary substructure to allow Agri SA to function.
Agri SA, true to its mission, is intent on negotiating continuously as a united front on national level for the farmer's economic, socio-economic and security situation.
The negotiating environment includes many activities and Agri SA offers a wide spectrum of service to members. The areas in which added value on products must be facilitated for producers on national level are extensive: soil conservation and environmental affairs; land reform; aspects affecting small scale farmers; water resources; labour legislation; safety, law and order; rural local government; monetary policy; fiscal policy; financing; trade policy; industrial policy; agricultural extention; marketing; economical; financial market information; input costs; liquid fuel; transport; disease and pest control and food security.
In this negotiating environment Agri SA has an extremely important liaising function with the Government as well as other sectors and groupings in the national economy. As representative body and national mouthpiece of the agricultural sector in South Africa, Agri SA has representation in numerous official bodies, international and private organisations.
Agri SA also has an obligation to farmers to keep them informed of actions taken in their interest, e.g. each farmer who is a member of a farmers' association receives Agri SA's monthly newspaper "Die Boer / The Farmer". Farmers are also informed continuously by means of radio news bulletins on Radiosondergrense and 18 community radio stations, through Agri24 on Internet and press releases through more than 200 media contacts country-wide, including the electronic media, daily press, popular agricultural media and regional newspapers.
Media liaison activities and a strategic communication strategy are also maintained on various levels to promote understanding and support for the farmer and agriculture amongst the general public and the rest of the national economy.
How does it benefit the individual farmer?
In drawing up a balance sheet of Agri SA's actions on behalf of the farmer it must be kept in mind that Agri SA primarily operates in a negotiating capacity and not so much through physical transfers or services.
The actions of Agri SA are constantly focused on creating a favourable environment within which it will be possible for the farmer as entrepreneur to be financially independent.