AFGRI
AFGRI
Key Contributors to a
Well-Nourished Nation PRODUCTION: Benjamin Southwold
With a core focus on the critical business of grain commodities, AFGRI is a leading agricultural services company set on driving food security across Africa with a focus on disruption and innovation. Nearly 100 years’ accumulated expertise enables AFGRI to provide services across the entire grain production and storage cycle, as well as financial support and solutions.
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Grain, which includes maize, wheat and several other crops, looks set to remain the staple diet of South Africans for many years to come. Maize in particular underpins the national provisions; it is the country’s most important grain crop and contributes somewhere in the region of a 40% majority of the gross value of South Africa’s field crops. Not only a dietary staple, maize is also a crucial source of livestock feed, and an export crop. Maize production can exceed 10 million tons in good years and generates at least 150,000 jobs in years with sufficient rainfall, and uses almost one-half of the inputs of the modern agricultural sector. Given its primary role in feeding the
nation, and the dual challenges of an arid land and notoriously unpredictable climate, AFGRI knows that it is more important than ever that the industry is supported in order to remain secure and thrive. “We are passionate about food security for our continent, on which our business has a more than 95-year heritage in grain and agriculture” AFGRI outlines. “It is this passion that drives our vision into Africa.” SECURING SUPPLY Established in 1923 as a cooperative style farming operation, AFGRI has expanded and diversified to become a trusted, multi-discipline partner of the agricultural industry. As well as taking care of the entire grain production and
storage cycle, AFGRI is also heavily involved in the supply of equipment through its ties to the John Deere brand. It is supported by a large retail footprint - its Hinterland network numbers 61 branches - and offers a multitude of value-added services to the agricultural and corporate market. Grain management is arguably the cornerstone of the AFGRI business, but also noteworthy is its stance as a leading provider of specialised finance to businesses in the agricultural value chain, through its UNIGRO arm, originating and administering credit facilities to primary producers of agricultural products. As well as maize, AFGRI also handles and stores wheat, sunflower, soya
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INDUSTRY FOCUS: AGRICULTURE
// WE RECOGNISE THAT IT WILL TAKE MASSIVE INVESTMENT TO DRIVE FOOD SECURITY, WHICH REMAINS OUR CORE VISION // beans, barley and sorghum at more than 100 operational points throughout South and Southern Africa, including Congo-Brazzaville, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia. Bolstering food security aims in a big way, South Africa’s current storage capacity of around 4.7 million tons is now due to receive a boost from the creation of a strategic grain storage platform vehicle in collaboration with STANLIB Infrastructure Investments, Wiphold, and the Land Bank. The announcement came courtesy of parent holding company, AFGRI Group Holdings (AGH) and its BEE
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partner, Izitsalo Employee Investments. “The AFGRI Grain Silo Company has the clear objective of expanding the current storage capacity to six million tons or more in the near future, allowing us not only to cater for grain storage, but to expand into the storage of other types of commodities,” said Chris Venter, AGH CEO. “The new storage platform will give us the ability to expand storage infrastructure in future, which includes putting up new facilities in areas where it is not currently economically feasible,” added Jacob de Villiers, MD of AFGRI Grain Management and CFO of AFGRI. “We recognise that it will take massive investment to drive food security, which remains our core vision, and this relates not only the availability of food, but also its affordability,” de Villiers concluded. “For this reason, we are also helping drive down the price of food to the consumer by consolidating our own costs and being open to opportunities to form consortiums with like-minded investors.”
AGRICULTURAL TECH With a growing worldwide demand for cleaner and safer food, AFGRI is harnessing the power of technology to keep it at the forefront of the agricultural sector and to ensure it continues to adhere to world-class standards. With the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution edging ever closer, in recent years AFGRI has developed its online capabilities significantly and now offers a major digital platform that can help farmers make and receive payments, manage stocks, and track business from anywhere in the country. Launched four years ago, the AFGRI eAccounts platform has exploded in popularity, with in excess of 2000 registered users across South Africa and an average of 8300 logins a month. As of May, payments totalling R13 billion had been made through eAccounts. “eAccounts is the ground-breaking electronic account management solution offered to AFGRI’s customers through UNIGRO Financial Services,” the company says.
AFGRI
Benchmarked Agricultural Land Value Data Base Normgebaseerde Landbou Grondwaarde Data Basis Secured Web Accessible Valuation Report Data Base Webtoeganglike Waardasie Verslag Databasis Specialist Valuation Methodology Training, Skills Development & Mentorship Gespesialiseerde Waardasie Metodologie Opleiding; Vaardigheidsontwikkeling en Mentorskap Consistency, Integrity and Objectivity addresses the Unexpected Konsekwentheid, Integriteit en Objektiwiteit voorkom die Onverwagte Proud Supplier of Specialist Professional Agricultural and Commercial Real Estate and Asset Valuation Services to AFGRI and Various other Private Financiers, Banks and Land Owners for more than 15 years. Trotse Verskaffer van Gespesialiseerde Landbou en Kommersiële Eiendoms- en Bate Waardasie Dienste aan AFGRI en verskeie ander Privaat Finansierders, Banke en Grondeienaars vir meer as 15 Jaar.
+27 (0) 82 389 3430 // WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT FOOD SECURITY FOR OUR CONTINENT // “It is a key differentiator for AFGRI, with around R430 million worth of transactions flowing through the platform each month.” Using its full capabilities, customers can view and receive invoices and statements, and create detailed reports of their grain delivered for storage at any of AFGRI Grain Management’s 85 locations across the country. “We are exceptionally pleased with the performance of the platform since its launch in 2015 and are delighted we’ve been able to put access to financial transactions specifically
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aimed at the farmer, as well as vital information for those involved directly in agriculture, literally in the hands of our users,” commented Tinus Prinsloo, former CEO of AFGRI. Technology extends further than this for the company, with AFGRI Technology Services (ATS) constantly on the lookout for opportunities to introduce emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital solutions, Internet of Things (IOT) and other emerging technologies to the sector and to its customers. “The South African sector is not immune to the technology disruption we are seeing rapidly impact all industries globally, we need to ensure we are looking around corners,” explained Niki Neumann, GM of Innovation and Strategy for AFGRI. “We are seeing a lot of this
disruption coming from start-ups and entrepreneurs, and it’s for this reason we have partnered with the University of Pretoria’s TuksNovation Activate Challenge, which is focused on identifying and supporting entrepreneurs who have solutions in the AgTech, agricultural financial technology and agricultural insurance technology space,” Neumann concluded of AFGRI’s unwavering forward-thinking approach to keeping the nation safely and efficiently wellnourished.
WWW.AFGRI.CO.ZA
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Published by CMB Media Group Chris Bolderstone – General Manager E. chris@cmb-media.co.uk Rouen House, Rouen Rd, Norwich NR1 1RB T. +44 (0) 1603 855 161 E. info@cmb-media.co.uk www.cmb-media.co.uk CMB Media Group does not accept responsibility for omissions or errors. The points of view expressed in articles by attributing writers and/ or in advertisements included in this magazine do not necessarily represent those of the publisher. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained within this magazine, no legal responsibility will be accepted by the publishers for loss arising from use of information published. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrievable system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. Š CMB Media Group Ltd 2019
AS FEAT UR ED IN
ENTERPRISE AFRICA
SEPT EMBER 2019