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This year
SANSOR will be in operation for 15 years as the representative
organization for the seed industry in South Africa. Since its
initiation in 1989, the organization has expanded its role
significantly through playing a significant role in issues
concerning the agricultural industry in general. In the past
few years the organization has also become noticeably more
assertive in its decision making process. This is mainly due to
the occurrence of issues placing the industry under considerable
pressure and if not resolved or addressed in time, may generate
considerable negative impact on the future of individual member
companies.
As the
market becomes more technology driven and diverse, it is clear
that SANSOR will have to prepare itself for many more
conflicting and challenging issues in future. The success of
this organization in dealing with such issues to date, was
mainly due to the dedicated work of all its office bearers
serving on constitutional committees, as well as the significant
support from volunteers on the various standing committees.
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Mr JM (Kobus) Lindeque
Chairman
SANSOR Board of Directors |
SANSOR has
also shown some growth and nine new members joined during the
period under review to bring the total number of members to
112. SANSOR is clearly a solid organization with a sound and
focused strategy. It is also comforting to know that the
organization is financially sound and is responsibly operating
within its financial framework.
Although
SANSOR had numerous achievements over the past year, I am
particularly proud of a particular initiative from the Human
Resources Standing Committee. Through the hard work of its
members, the committee achieved their goal of completing a Seed
Industry Salary Survey in 2003. This was the first time that
such a survey had been conducted and the project is expected to
continue in 2004. Feedback received from the relevant
participating companies had been enthusiastic and I encourage
all seed companies to participate in subsequent surveys in order
to expand the survey and ensure its value to the industry. The
Human Resources Standing Committee has also been looking into
other initiatives like the SANSOR Development Initiative
and the latter initiative will be developed further in 2004.
This initiative relates to the development of seedsmen and
-women for the industry and has been earmarked to become a
priority for the organization. This will further assist the
development of necessary skills in previously disadvantaged
individuals.
This past
year the seed industry was once again exposed to several factors
that impacted on business results. Extreme drought occurred
during the planting season of both winter and summer crops and
significantly influenced the number of hectares planted. The
appreciation of the Rand against the Dollar also had a
significant effect on the performance of seed companies.
Firstly the price of many commodities dropped and farmers were
hesitant to plant. Secondly, companies were under pressure
concerning the production of seed for exports. Factors like
these will always be part of the South African agricultural
environment and form the reason why the seed industry will
remain a challenging and exciting place to test the skills and
knowledge of people in this industry.
Looking
back on the year 2003, the SANSOR Board of Directors were proud
to be associated with SANSOR and believe that the dedication of
the members to this organization would result in a prosperous
industry in full support of sustainable development in South
Africa.
The SANSOR
Board of Directors for 2003/2004 comprised Messrs JM Lindeque
(Chairman), DE Malan (Vice-Chairman), BD Mappledoram, DG Steyn,
PS Marais and RM Sachs.
Jacobus M Lindeque
Chairman
