In the time of Covid-19, Help from Tobacco

Photo by gerry meldani on Unsplash

What a shock to find out - a day into lockdown - that tobacco would not be available in shops! People had received notice regarding the ban on alcohol sales during this time and so had been able to stock up on wines, but banning the sale of tobacco is more controversial. What does tobacco have to offer us in the times of Covid-19?

We are not arguing health risks of tobacco here, just questioning the wisdom of disallowing smokers access to their nicotine fix. There are already pressures enough in staying at home without a change of scenery. Making unavailable something which would calm people addicted to nicotine is short sighted. Unlike alcohol, cigarettes do not impair the judgement of, say, fathers who would do things that they regret once sober. It will feed into the sale of illicit cigarettes, depriving the country of tax revenue. Also, few people know that the uses of tobacco go beyond smoking the stuff, and that the industry holds out the promise of manufacturing a Covid-19 vaccine in the second half of this year.

A calming affect in the house

It is difficult explaining to a non-smoker how nicotine functions in shaping the world of a smoker. As an ex-smoker myself, I used to experience it as a creeping dryness of throat, a building agitation combined with a withdrawing interest in any proceedings whatsoever around me. People are different, and so responses to this deprivation probably differ too.

I was still a smoker when the team was visiting role players at the beginning of the agriculture project back in 2003. We would have six or seven meetings or so lined up, and knowing that smoking in the car was out of the question, I tried to schedule a smoke break here and there. Most of the meetings were so good-natured (and conversation hard to draw to a close) that we usually rushed from meeting place to meeting place without the opportunity of a smoke break, which led to my becoming progressively quieter, tipped into a space in which the deprivation crowded out any other imperative.

Compiling the chapters was absorbing, akin to writing several matric higher grade English papers a day, what with all the summarising and seeing what could be left out! Inevitably the dip would come, and I would feel controlled by the nicotine and began to resent it. I would take reading matter outside and do work while I had my fix. It was in the time of printing the second edition that I kicked the habit after accepting Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Stop Smoking from a friend. The book doesn’t frighten you with stories of how smoking is bad for your health (usually this just increases your anxiety, leading to a higher uptake of cigarettes and a feeling of helplessness!) Check the book out for yourself.

But it is also the non-smokers who know the difference of that fix to the family member, and will have to brace themselves for some dark moods in this time of lockdown.

Legal cigarettes

One of the bugbears of the tobacco industry is being undercut by the sale of illicit cigarettes that pass beneath the radar and are sold for half the price you'd pay at the counter (find the articles listed at the end of our Tobacco page for more). Making legal cigarettes illegal at this time will create a bigger market for people who think that they are not able to stop.

Covid-19 Vaccine

We’ve included a block of information in our tobacco chapter for several years now – the other uses of tobacco. It was punted as a biofuel for the airline industry in 2019, and not by the industry but by environmentalists (see our blog "Biofuel production in sub-Saharan Africa should be prioritised for aviation")! A little known fact is that tobacco helped the planet with a vaccine in the time of SARS and Ebola, and is about to do so again.

The press release earlier this month reads:

Medicago, a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Quebec City, has successfully produced virus-like particles (VLP) of the coronavirus in just 20 days using proprietary plant-based [tobacco] technology. The company did so successfully after obtaining the SARS-CoV-2 gene, which is the virus causing the COVID-19 disease ... [It hopes] to initiate human trials of the vaccine by July/August 2020.

Find the announcement here.

Quitting?

Some remarkable people may go with the flow and set their minds to quitting the habit at this time. For a while, that is. Of them a tiny percentage will pull it off.

Mostly, humans don’t like being controlled and will respond to the lockdown itself with some resentment whereas, if they could have had a puff on the balcony, it would have made the time more bearable and kept the focus on what it is meant to achieve – flattening the curve.

If you want to stop people smoking, give them a book by Allen Carr.

Find the AgribookDigital page on tobacco here.

Agriculture, a strategic sector, must be safe during Coronavirus, Covid-19

Press release. Photo by Chanita Sykes from Pexels

Both TLU SA and Agri SA today called on their members to be more alert, and on the police to maintain visibility in rural areas during this time. As agricultural organisations, we realise that the police are currently under enormous pressure; therefore, both organisations undertook to cooperate with the police to ensure that agriculture can continue producing food within a safe environment during this time.

The President, in elaborating on his declaration of a state of disaster to curb the spread of  COVID-19, identified agriculture as one of the essential sectors. This reaffirms the strategic value of this sector as it continues to feed the population and maintain food security during the state of disaster. The safety of the sector is also of strategic importance for the role it must play as essential sector.

The two organisations also called on their members to continue applying home and hearth protection measures and to be even more safety conscious at this time. Liaison with local security structures, adherence to the farming community’s protection measures and compilation of a local contingency plan with the assistance of police are aspects that should now receive attention locally.

The effective implementation of the Rural Safety Strategy and Farm Access Protocol to keep the farming community safe must be seriously considered to ensure that farm visits can be monitored. Farmers must be more alert than ever before and watch out for people who misrepresent themselves in order to gain access to a farm in order to commit crime. For the safety of the farming community, it is important that everyone knows who is visiting the farm and what the reason for the visit is. The state of disaster could offer criminals an opportunity to target the farming community; therefore, implementing the protocol can serve as deterrent and contribute towards safeguarding the farm.

Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include "Organised agriculture" and "Rural Crime and Farm Safety".

CoVid-19 and agriculture

Cartoon used courtesy of Gary Varvel (see garyvarvel.com)

The message from the Intensive Growers Association began with the usual Johan van Veenendaal wit: JUST IN CASE YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN THIS MESSAGE BEFORE, PLEASE READ IT AGAIN, AND THEN APPLY YOUR REASONABLE MIND WITHOUT PANIC.

If it had been a WhatsApp message it would have been followed by the laughing face with tears. Usually. Coronavirus, the CoVid-19 pandemic is with us, and it was another email announcing a postponement of an agricultural function. This followed the National State of Disaster declared by the state president, Mr Ramaphosa, on Sunday evening.

Apart from the standard encouragements to wash hands often; avoid touching people, surfaces, your own face; and avoiding crowds, we wondered if there were any other tips of particular significance to agricultural circles. The press release from farmer union TLU SA summed up matters concisely, and we quote (most of) it below:

We want to emphasise that everyone should keep perspective and not go overboard,” says Mr Louis Meintjes, the president of TLU SA. “The coronavirus has the potential to have an enormous negative impact. The danger, however, is that the perception of the possible consequences could cause more damage than the virus itself. The decisions already hold far-reaching economic implications. It could have an even more significant impact on the sustainability of businesses, in future.

“In no way do we want to create the idea that we can ignore the situation and just carry on as normal,” says Mr Meintjes. “Things are not normal, and we should act accordingly.”

The minister of agriculture, Ms Thoko Didiza, on Monday 16 March, called an urgent meeting with all the roleplayer in agriculture to discuss the way forward. All roleplayers had the opportunity to give input and a task team – consisting of the department and organised agriculture – was put in place. TLU SA serves on the task team.

The task team will convene on Thursday 19 March, and will communicate all decisions as they are unlocked.

During the ministerial meeting, the minister confirmed that auctions would continue, for the time being, to ensure the livestock industry doesn’t face any further damages after foot and mouth disease knocked the sector earlier this year. The goal is to protect food security and the agricultural economy.

The success of the government’s emergency measures depends on society’s willingness to implement it. Our members should take further steps to limit the possible damage of the coronavirus.

Workers:

• Inform workers of the virus and how it spreads;
• Emphasise the importance of personal hygiene and ensure soap and water is available for them to wash their hands;
• Discuss the risks of socialising in big groups over weekends, while there is still uncertainty over the momentum of its spread. Explain the benefits of voluntary isolation;
• Monitor the health of workers and their families;
• Do long-term planning of rations with a longer shelf life.

Access to farms:

• Strictly apply the farm protocol for access to farms. Persons visiting a farm for whichever reason should wear face masks and properly clean themselves before continuing with the activities of the planned visit;
• Be alert of criminals abusing the coronavirus to get access to farms under false pretences;
• Consider using farms as a type of quarantine area, granting only approved access.

Crime:

• Uncertain circumstances can lead to a rise in incidents of crime. You can expect crime to increase when local economies come under pressure, and there is a shortage of products on shelves;
• Take precautionary measures with protective gear like face masks and gloves when interacting with criminals or making arrests.

Investment in technology vital to boost agricultural output and exports

Press release

Africa Agritech Conference (2020): Delegates exploring new technology

South African agriculture needs more investment and the implementation of the latest technology to boost output, not only for local consumption, but also for vitally needed exports to boost foreign exchange earnings. Opportunities to increase exports exist provided they conform to international standards such as traceability.

One of the ways to unlock agriculture’s potential is to increase investment in research and development (R&D), according to Dr Thulasizwe Mkhabela, Group Executive, Impact and Partnerships at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC). Speaking at the Africa Agri Tech Conference and Expo in Pretoria he said that current overall expenditure on R&D in South Africa was only R32-billion a year, which equates to 0.8% of GDP. This is way below the 1.5% R&D investment proposed in the National Development Plan (NDP). Agriculture gets only R2.6-billion or 0.8% of the current amount, which is way below requirements. This sum is made up of a contribution of 44.6% from the public coffers, 38.9% from private organisations and companies and 16.5% from foreign sources.

Mkhabela lobbied for more financial support for the ARC which he says will provide big returns for the future growth of agriculture in terms of expanding exports, providing employment and the overriding objective of providing food security, in a world where the population explosion is putting a big strain on food supplies.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is another organisation that has a big focus on assisting the agricultural industry and is deeply involved the latest technological developments.

Dr Moses Azong Cho, Research Group Leader, Precision Agriculture at the CSIR highlighted a need to create a dedicated group of scientists to assist in adapting precision farming techniques to suit local conditions and budgets. Current precision farming projects under development at the CSIR are driven using affordable satellite data to produce Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) information.

Dr Santosh Ramchuran, Research Group Leader, Bioprocess Development at the CSIR advocated the use of more bio-based control agents as fertilisers and pesticides to replace existing chemical products. This provides South African companies and organisations an opportunity to develop these products as there appear to be no or few local manufacturers at present.

Ramchuran announced that the CSIR was involved in developing these products and already had some ready for commercialisation. One of these, in prototype form, had already contributed to an 85.2% increase in wheat crop yield. It is now awaiting proposals from SMMEs to bring this unique product to market.

Scientific presentations related to agriculture and Africa Agri Tech included content from the Department of Science and Innovation, The Innovation Hub, the Agricultural Research Council and CSIR.



 Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include "Research & development", "Precision farming" and "Digital agriculture".

Off-take agreements with Emerging Livestock Farmers of R30–R90 million announced by Al Mawashi

Seated (L-R): Emerging Farmers:  Nomthunzi Boyce, Mandisi Nofumba & Zandile Mfingwana. 

Standing (L-R): Thabo Shenxane (Head of Trade, Investment & Innovation, ECDC) & Ilyaas Ally (Director of Commercial & Operations for Al Mawashi)

• Emerging farmers to access between R30 Million - R90 Million over next three years in first-round of off-take agreements

• Al Mawashi off-take agreement spins off vision and plan for ‘Youth Development Centre’ in Northern Cape

East London, 04 March 2020 -- Al Mawashi South Africa, the South African subsidiary of the Kuwait Stock Exchange listed Al Mawashi (KSE: KLTT) - one of the largest international livestock transport and trading companies in the world, announced the country’s first-ever live export, off-take agreement for sheep with emerging South African black livestock farmers.

The announcement, made yesterday at Al Mawashi South Africa’s East London head office in Beacon Bay, involved signing and concluding five preferential procurement off-take agreements.  It forms part of the company’s empowerment strategy to grow, foster and support the development of an emerging farmer live export industry alongside commercial farmers.

Based on future estimations, Al Mawashi said the off-take agreements allow for preferential procurement of 25 000 to 75 000 head of sheep valued between R30 million to R90 million over the next three years, on the condition of farmers meeting specifications of live export.

Mr. Mandisi Nofumba, who rears sheep in Richmond, Northern Cape said: “We need more opportunities such as this one that will provide opportunities for emerging farmers to grow and commercialise their businesses. At some point, we have to outgrow the emerging farmer phase and join the big league of commercial farming. This agreement will enable me to expand my business and has opened us up to new avenues. Through the Al Mawashi deal, we are also busy with proposals to develop a training centre in Richmond in the Northern Cape province where our focus will be on training youth in the agricultural sector”.

According to Mr. Gcina Madasa, “emerging and commercial farmers are allowed a great opportunity to participate in a new industry.” Madasa has been farming in Elliot for 16 years.

“It allows farmers access to a sustainable market.  This also presents an opportunity for farmers to improve the quality of their breed. It puts us in a position to plan our breeding product in a consistent way.  We are exploring initiatives to create a collection point from other emerging farmers for Al Mawashi,” he said.

Since establishing its South African operation in 2019, Al Mawashi has built the largest feed lot in Southern Africa, 40 kilometres outside the Port of East London. It has procured, transported and shipped 56 000 heads of sheep from South Africa to Kuwait offering market-related rates to 150 South African livestock farmers.  This, in turn, injected approximately R155 million into the Eastern Cape’s regional economy in under 12 months.

The company also achieved a 0,2% live animal transport mortality rate during its voyage in October 2019, well below the international benchmark of 2% on board its accredited, twin-tier, and ventilated livestock vessels in 2019.

“The company has supported distressed South African farmers whose livestock was in danger of dying, because of feed and water shortages as a result of the draught, offering market-related prices. To be clear, these animals were destined for certain death by drought-induced starvation.”

Mr. Ally said the company is also exported a mixture of mutton and lamb carcases of 240 232 kg to Kuwait.

Al Mawashi South Africa’s Kuwait-based parent company, is Australia’s largest buyer of sheep, and the company has been in existence for 47 years.   The company announced on the Kuwait Stock Exchange that it will seek out reliable sources of live sheep in the future, and established its first operation on the African continent noting South Africa’s potential as a source for food security for countries in the Middle East.

Al Mawashi operates various abattoirs in the Middle East, supplying meat to the UAE, Oman and Kuwait. The company is further expanding its reach into other countries around the Persian Gulf.

“We are looking to engage and sign more emerging and commercial livestock farmers in South Africa over the next few months.  We have set an ambitious target of building our South African business to turn over R1 billion per annum by the end of 2025,” announced Mr. Ilyaas Ally, Managing Director of Al Mawashi South Africa.

“Our operation has a direct multiplier effect on various industries in the value chain including animal welfare transport, animal medicine, feed and shipping industries, as well as government.”

“We are excited to announce the off-take agreements, and will offer and introduce layers of support to the farmers.  Importantly, through the off-take agreements, we essentially remove barriers of entry for farmers into new global markets.”

Ally said: “The message that we want to get out to red meat exporters in the country is that we are not taking away your business or a market.  We are simply opening up an entirely new market for the country, which never existed before.”

Ally said South Africa also needed to be educated on aspects of live export for slaughter industries, which is as “old as the age of dawn, but has become highly modernised and sophisticated to comply with animal welfare standards.”

“Animals are routinely shipped via sea, and there is nothing strange, novel or cruel about this practice.  We will work closely with organisations promoting animal rights helping them to understand the industry.  Similarly, we will not take lightly any reckless activism, defamation and in some instances, skewed or misrepresented media reporting on the industry.”

Eastern Cape Development Corporation’s (ECDC) head: trade, investment and innovation, Thabo Shenxane said:  “This is exactly why ECDC promotes trade to ensure that benefits acme to everybody that lives in the Eastern Cape.”

Relevant pages on AgribookDigital include "Mutton (sheep)" and "Exporting".

Founding of Agricultural Development Agency “A New Landmark in SA History”

The launch of the Agricultural Development Agency (AGDA) at the three-day Africa Agri Tech Conference and Expo in Pretoria this week has been heralded  as a landmark in the history of South Africa by bringing together the various role players in the agricultural environment to be part of a powerful initiative led by passionate people.

The new organisation will be a private business initiative that will work closely with government in all aspects of agriculture from skills transfer to the practical aspects of implementing land reform.

This is the opinion of Nick Serfontein, a prominent livestock farmer who wrote an open letter to President Ramaphosa in December 2017 asking him to involve commercial farmers in the land reform process. He was subsequently appointed to the President’s 10-person land reform advisory panel and is an enthusiastic founder member of AGDA after actively and successfully supporting new farmers for the past five years.

This positive attitude was a good example of the atmosphere that prevailed at this launch event which was led by Leona Archery, the newly-appointed CEO of AGDA who is also the head of the agriculture division at the Bigen Group and a former deputy Director-General of Rural Development and Land Reform

Thoko Didiza, the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Reform,  was unable to attend the function due to an urgent  meeting with President Ramaphosa on public-private sector partnerships in Cape Town, but sent a very supportive message for the establishment of AGDA and its objectives in a recorded video address.

The Minister said the formation of AGDA is an excellent example of a positive response for business to work with government in the drive to uplift the economy that went out as a request from President Ramaphosa in 2018.

“The addition of the variety of businesses involved with the agricultural industry which are now or will become members of AGDA will be an important instrument in meeting the need for the responsible use of land in the reform process,” said Minister Didiza.

“Access to finance and insurance are big challenges for new farmers and this is where an organisation such as AGDA can play an important role too as it will include major roleplays in the financial world.”

The Minister also stressed the challenges facing farmers in terms of biosecurity that is being impacted by global climate change.

On the positive side the Minister said the Africa Free Trade Agreement, which comes into effect in July, will open the doors for increased export opportunities into Africa to the benefit of local farmers and associated businesses.

Rudi Dicks, the head of project management in the Presidency, said the President was given regular updates on progress with agricultural initiatives such as AGDA. He added that this sector of the economy was an important participant in the Jobs Summit, which was driven personally by the President. Dicks said that although there was no financial involvement with AGDA from the government at this stage there could be a possibility of a capital investment in this type of initiative in the future.

Roelf Meyer, a former cabinet minister and now a community and economic development activist, said the launch of AGDA marked a very proud moment for him personally as agriculture was one of the most important aspects of local business. It was one of 20 sectors that were identified to be part of public-private initiatives to boost the ailing economy.

Meyer is a major motivator and facilitator, along with Dr Johan van Zyl, a South African who is currently CEO of Toyota Europe and a member of the board of Toyota Motor Corporation, in setting up the Public-Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) which has full government support.

 Kallie Schoeman, the managing director of a 100-year-old faming business, was another prominent member of the agricultural community who gave his full backing to the AGDA initiative. He said that he saw the efficient use of agriculture as an excellent vehicle for reconciliation in South Africa as it was a practical way of improving the lives of millions by providing wider access to affordable food.

Malcolm Ferguson, an associate in the In Transformation Initiative, said the way forward for AGDA will be to continue with pilot projects, source funding from the private sector, set up a board of directors, establish operational committees and build on the initial list of 36 founding members. The target is for AGDA to be operational by September 2020.


Relevant pages in AgribookDigital include "Finance for new farmers and SMMEs", "Marketing" and "Providers of financial services".

Minister Thoko Didiza to deliver keynote address at the AGDA launch

The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza will deliver the keynote address at the official launch of the much-anticipated Agriculture Development Agency. This take place on 18 February 2020 at the Africa Agri Tech Conference and Expo (AAT), to be held at the Maslow Hotel, Times Square, Menlyn Main in Pretoria.

The launch of the Agriculture Development Agency (AGDA) will also serve as the opening event of the AAT conference, which will run from 18 – 20 February and cover topics ranging from the local and international agricultural economy and access to capital, to mitigating drought conditions through sustainable climate sensitive agriculture as well as developing intra African trade in agricultural products.

AGDA is part of the Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI), which was established in April 2018 under the leadership of Dr Johan van Zyl, CEO and President of Toyota in Europe. Van Zyl was inspired by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s famous Thuma Mina call in January 2018 and based the PPGI on the hugely successful Japanese economic model. The aim is to align strategic planning between government and the private sector, in the interest of improving economic growth and the manner in which government and business work together.

There are more than 20 sectors identified by the PPGI for specific focus. These include Agriculture; Tourism; Automotive; Chemicals; Manufacturing; Energy and Renewable Energy; Construction; Pharmaceutical; Mining; Retail; ICT; Health; and Insurance. These sectors are all developing comprehensive five-year growth plans, which aim at accelerating economic growth and job creation.

The specific aims of AGDA are intended to promote greater social justice by creating enablers that will help drive sustainable land reform programmes and contribute to changing land ownership patterns in our country.

AGDA, which is an entirely private sector initiative falling under the PPGI framework, will work together on an agreed project basis with government to achieve the common national goal of sustainable and accelerated land reform to the benefit of South Africa and all its people. 

In this regard, Mr Roelf Meyer of In Transformation Initiative, which is one of the main drivers of this project, drew attention to the main objectives of the Agency, which are to promote and support access to agricultural land by black/emerging farmers, and to support the use of agricultural land and infrastructure development so as to promote land reform and food security in the country. Meyer highlighted that AGDA has the specific purpose not only to pursue these noble objectives, but also to ensure the provision of appropriate training, as well as support and assistance to emerging farmers to improve capacity and access to agricultural markets in particular.

 

“It is only through the pursuit of such objectives in partnership with government, focusing on a more vigorous pursuit of the noble objectives the national land reform programme, that the market failures and imperfections in building an inclusive, dynamic and competitive agricultural sector, to enable all our people who have ambitions to work in agriculture can be achieved,” Meyer said.

Ms Gloria Serobe, CEO of WipCapital and also one of the leading inspirations and contributors to the creation of AGDA remarked that, “the Agricultural Development Agency must have a well-developed social conscience and it must be institutionalised in a manner that will ensure it is always dedicated to such imperatives.”

Relevant pages in AgribookDigital include "Finance for new farmers and SMMEs".