The Future Is Education
More than 60 years ago Dr Paul Clüver’s mother, Gertrude, established a farm school on De Rust, the family farm in the Elgin Valley. With only 23 learners. A small first step is key to a great journey, Gerrit Rautenbach…
The future of Free State’s apples
On 13 April 2021, Doug Osler was crowned the Free State Agriculture’s Young Farmer of the Year. A magnificent achievement, but it is something that comes from way back. Gerrit Rautenbach went to look at the past that determined his…
The Future of Fresh Produce: Understanding the Challenges and Opportunities
(Summary extracted from a report by the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce)* Fresh produce—fruits and vegetables—is essential to a healthy diet, yet the industry that brings these foods to our tables faces significant challenges. Understanding the complexities behind costs, pricing,…
The future starts today
Tanja Hichert is a professional futurist who has helped an impressive list of clients — from the City of Cape Town to the World Bank — to identify ways in which to reach their preferred futures. By Anna Mouton. Hichert…
The gold medals of Ouplaas
Ouplaas is an exceptional farm in the Witzenberg Valley. More impressive is that many of the inhabitants are runners. No, not running away, but running to be better at what they do. Breaking records in all sorts of events. Maybe…
The Hortgro Vision of the Future
No one can predict the future. But can we identify actions that we can take today to shape a better tomorrow? By Anna Mouton. Hortgro recently contracted professional futurist Tanja Hichert to facilitate a foresight study for the pome- and…
The Jobs Fund on track in the Langkloof
The Jobs Fund (JF) project of the South African deciduous fruit industry is on track and progressing well in the Langkloof. The JF is the commercialisation of emerging growers and an initiative by the Deciduous Fruit Development Chamber (DFDC). It…
The leader of the band
Text and picture by Gerrit Rautenbach Jason Baartman is a man who lives passionately for agriculture. At first, he sometimes wondered why he didn’t opt for something like law or engineering or the like. Maybe he felt inferior about being…
The leading light of PALS
Lien Visagie is the newly elected chairperson of the board of Partners in Agri Land Solutions (PALS). Getting there was a long and a hard road, but the road ahead is the real challenge. Gerrit Rautenbach discovered how a light…
The magic of partnerships
Through their involvement in the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund Initiative, the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Departments of Agriculture together with HORTGRO, are showing what can be done when public and private enterprises work together. Text: Glenneis Kriel The Jobs…
The magical mystery of an apple’s sleep
It might have been an apple that Snow White bit into that sent her into a death-like sleep but, this notion of suspended animation is not the stuff of fairytales nor science-fiction stories. Apples, one of the most popular fruit…
The man who rowed into his farm
Competitive canoeing shaped Paul Lombard’s life. Literally and figuratively. But it all happened because of a drought. Gerrit Rautenbach explains. You can clearly see that Paul Lombard, proud manager director of Eve Brand, an apple and pear farm near Misgund…