AgriEco NKZN March 2013

AgriECONorthern KwaZulu-Natal Africa not behind anymore TRAGEDY MARCH 2013 With concerns over labour unrest and economic gloom being the talk around the tea tables recently, it was refreshing to hear agricultural ‘soothsayer’, Ernst Janovsky of ABSA, sketch... More

AgriECONorthern KwaZulu-Natal Africa not behind anymore TRAGEDY MARCH 2013 With concerns over labour unrest and economic gloom being the talk around the tea tables recently, it was refreshing to hear agricultural ‘soothsayer’, Ernst Janovsky of ABSA, sketch a far more positive outlook for farmers. Speaking at a Red Meat Producers Organisation meeting at the Dundee Research Station in February, Mr Janovsky said the global demand for food over the next 40 years is going to be bigger than in the past 500 years. Populations in Africa and Asia are exploding and the need for farmers to produce and export food means there are massive opportunities. “Africa’s potential to produce food is greater than that of the American Mid-West. And Africa is not lagging behind anymore in terms of infrastructure. Good infrastructure creates the environment to allow agriculture to flourish. ” He told the packed hall of farmers who came from as far as Utrecht and Ladysmith to hear his message that China m Less