RSA Group Reflections February 2025
Dear friends
South Africa’s farmers have been in the global headlines in 2025, for all sorts of reasons. I know I am not alone when I say it has been a pretty strange experience to observe how our community is being represented in the international media: very often in stereotypical ways, and equally often without crucial surrounding context.
We are certainly not the only country to be experiencing the direct impacts of a new global political dispensation, now unfolding at warp speed. Whether observing events in our own country or elsewhere, I am reminded of a famous line from one of South Africa’s most prominent literary figures, Andre Brink, who once wrote:
“A story is not a mirror to reflect the world, but a hammer with which to shape it.”
Never has this idea been relevant to life, politics and business. I love it because it highlights in very clear terms the crucial importance of understanding and communicating your own story.
As we are currently seeing again and again, if you don’t develop and grow the ability to tell your own story, and tell it well, others can easily tell it on your behalf, with significant consequences.
Brink’s observation was certainly top of mind when I had the pleasure to spend time at the Korkom conference this February, talking about potatoes and onions, of course, but many other things as well, including the interplay of South African agriculture and politics, and the Competition Commission’s Fresh Produce Market Inquiry (FPMI).
As I interacted with colleagues and friends and business partners at this lovely, very engaging event, I started to draw up a little list of some of the story lines that actually do define our community; a list of the things about us that aren’t often articulated in generic media coverage. Among many others, here are my top three:
1. We are politically battle hardened.
But the politics – as difficult as they can sometimes be – never stop us. We always find a way to keep producing, and we always engage as positively as we can with all role players, even when we disagree with their position. The FPMI offers an excellent, but by no means the only, case in point.
2. We are fundamentally innovative.
Maybe this is because we are unsubsidised and have had no choice but to develop very sharp business skills over many decades. Maybe it’s just part of who we are, and always have been. Or, maybe it’s because we have a lot of exciting new players entering the industry, many of whom have had to overcome great hurdles just to do business. Regardless, our innovation makes us incredibly resilient – and therefore commercially sustainable.
3. We are unique.
The South African fresh produce open market system gives our farmers a range of options and opportunities that the majority of international fresh produce producers simply don’t have access to. In many ways South African fresh produce sets the global standard as to what can be achieved with the right mind-set, and commercial structure. We should never forget that.
We all have our own opinions about politics and the relentless waves of headlines currently breaking around us, and 2025 is providing fertile ground for clashes, and confusion. But these strange times also hold a fascinating mirror up to our community, allowing us to see more clearly who we really are. If the positive spirit of the Korkom event is anything to go by, I believe we remain – despite the many different forces swirling around us – in an excellent position to tell our story increasingly loudly, and clearly. As we head into the thick of what looks likely to be one of the most consequential years in recent history, let’s ensure that we recognise this opportunity, and make the most that we possibly can out of it.
Best wishes
Jaco Oosthuizen