Jannie de Villiers retires as CEO of Grain SA at the end of August after a sterling decade-long career at the organisation's helm.
He joined Grain SA in 2011 after a period of particular concern about the outlook for the global food system. This was a period when prices had risen rapidly between 2008 and 2010, in what was later termed the “world food crisis”. Before this he had spent much of his career in food processing, with a few stints in public service.
SA is not a small country in the global grain market by any stretch. While its maize-production volumes might look relatively small compared with China, Brazil and the US, SA is still the eighth-largest maize exporter globally, shipping an average of 1.8-million tonnes a year.
During the period De Villiers was at Grain SA, he helped move the organisation's head office to Pretoria from Bothaville in the Free State, putting the HQ closer to policymakers to help lobby for grain and oilseeds farmers' interests. This was an effective move as Grain SA has always been represented in policy discussions and contributes to land reform, trade policy, agricultural product standards, and fertiliser, seed and fuel regulations.
The results of these engagements have also been demonstrated through improving productivity at the farm level and rising exports, as a consequence of new technologies being approved by regulators and successfully adopted by SA farmers.
If we consider just one major grain commodity — maize — its output increased 56% over the period De Villiers led Grain SA, to an estimated 17.1-million tonnes at his retirement this year.
De Villiers is also a great collaborator. He used this skill efficiently to support the growth and development of SA's soybean industry, which has been instrumental in boosting poultry production. Through working with farmers, soybean processors, private investors and government, the collaborative effort saw SA's soybean-crushing capacity increase from just over half-a-million tonnes to about 2.2-million tonnes. In response, farmers ramped up soybean production to an estimated 1.92-million tonnes at present — up 170% from 2011 when De Villiers joined Grain SA.
I first met De Villiers as a student in 2012 attending the Agbiz Congress in the Drakensberg. I quickly noticed his humility and people skills as he approached our table of shy students, among many tables of industry experts, to have a chat and ensure we were comfortable. We struck up a conversation, and he gave me his business card. After e-mailing him on my return to Stellenbosch University, he kindly arranged a job interview at Grain SA, which enabled me to join the organisation the following year. In so doing he gave me a chance to be of service to the agricultural industry at the early age of 23.
I had the rare privilege of enjoying his guidance, wisdom and mentorship, which was instrumental in shaping my career. During my time at Grain SA, De Villiers provided a conducive environment for learning and allowed employees to share their insights with other members of the organisation and the public in media and various platforms.
When the research team was stretched and temporarily short-staffed following the departure of some senior economists, I found myself at the deep end of the work with no experience in some tasks. De Villiers, an astute economist by training, would spare his afternoons to work with me in compiling the supply and demand estimates for SA's grain and oilseeds market. Importantly, this was during a drought period, and policymakers and the public were eager to receive Grain SA's guidance about the country's and the region's grain supplies. These were particularly great learning moments that provided me with expertise I still apply in the soft commodity markets.
De Villiers's focus on the development of black farmers saw Grain SA open its first offices in the Eastern Cape and other provinces to serve all farmers and ensure a good pull of black farmers into the sector. His efforts to this end have yielded mixed results as data from the National Agricultural Marketing Council tell us that black farmers still contribute a mere 4.7% share of commercial maize production in SA. Still, at a smallholder level the productivity of farmers who were part of the Grain SA farmer development programme increased from about 1.7-tonnes per hectare to 4-tonnes a hectare, according to Bureau for Food & Agricultural Policy.
SA's grains and oilseeds industry has gained prominence and success in production volumes and contributed to food security over the past decade. This, in part, is a testimony to the work of De Villiers. The food security benefits are not just for SA but Southern Africa at large. His retirement from Grain SA is an end of an illustrious era.
On a personal level, De Villiers is also a great mentor on life in general, and religious issues. He always encourages us to keep the faith, pray and work hard. As he steps down from his corporate responsibilities we will have more time to engage him on this particular side of mentorship.
• Sihlobo is chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA, author of “Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture” and visiting research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance.
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