Global agricultural equipment company, AGCO, recently announced plans to restructure its Asia- Pacific region to include Africa and increase its operations in Africa. Gary Collar, senior vice-president and general manager (GM) for Asia-Pacific and Africa and Nuradin Osman, GM for AGCO Africa, spoke to Denene Erasmus about AGCO’s plans for expansion in Africa that will be driven from the company’s new regional headquarters in Johannesburg.
What spurred AGCO’s decision to restructure its Asia-Pacific region to include Africa?
Gary Collar (GC): We believe that with this move, the region will be strongly positioned to leverage the synergies of similar market dynamics in the two territories. These are the emergence of a growing smallholder farmer segment, product and application similarities, shared consumer finance patterns and growing trade between the two regions.
Nuradin Osman (NO): Other similarities between Asia-Pacific and Africa are a growing need for micro-financing for smallholder farmers because of an absence of direct farm subsidies, and the fact that productivity can benefit a great deal from mechanisation. These markets also face the challenge of ensuring food security for fast-growing populations, so there’s a lot that Africa and Asia-Pacific can learn from each other.
How does doing business in Africa and Asia-Pacific differ from doing business in Europe, for example?
NO: In Europe, farm subsidies play a big role while in Africa a large share of financing needs has to come from the private sector. This is why in the African and Asia-Pacific region we cannot expand our business without looking at developing micro-financing solutions.
Market linkages in Europe are also more formal than in parts of Africa and Asia-Pacific. Many countries in Africa are still developing their supply chains to link farmers to consumers.
Denne historien er fra 27 January 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 27 January 2017-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Syngenta Seedcare celebrates a decade of innovation
Syngenta's ambition is to enable their customers' investments to grow in healthy soil from treated seeds to young plants through innovation and collaboration, writes Magda du Toit.
Agri workers shine at Western Cape awards
Lindie-Alet van Staden, a garden and olive orchard manager at L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, was crowned as the Western Cape Prestige Agri-Worker of 2024 at a gala event recently held near Paarl.
Small and large farmers recognised at grain awards
The annual Grain SA/Syngenta awards ceremony bears testimony to the quality of farmers in the grain industry.
Growing partnerships: Fedgroup's flexible and innovative approach
Janine Ryan spoke to Warren Winchester, general manager of impact investing at Fedgroup, about why the company became involved in agriculture, and what it offers farmers and their immediate communities.
Why fish farms fail, and how to avoid becoming a statistic
The popularity of launching fish farms is not matched by their success. Leslie Ter Morshuizen, owner of Aquaculture Solutions, explores the factors that cause most of these businesses to go under.
Where history and modernity meet in a luxurious setting
Brian Berkman kept his eyes peeled for ghosts in the oldest continuously run hotel in South Africa, but all he found was a fabulous two-night stay.
THE HITCHING POST
I'm a stylish elderly lady with a radiant glow and a good sense of humour that keeps me young at heart.
Cutworms: check the weeds on your fields!
Zunel van Eeden explains why understanding the ecological interplay between cutworms and weeds is crucial for effective pest management. Producers should disrupt the life cycle of cutworms to minimise crop damage.
Does high-density grazing mimic grazing patterns of game?
In their paper on high-density grazing in Southern Africa, professors Angelinus Franke and Elmarie Kotzé from the Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State say high-density grazing systems may not accurately reflect natural ecosystems. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Global grain outlook: 2024/25 marketing season
In its latest summer crops report, the Crop Estimates Committee says South African farmers intend to plant 4,47 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2024/25 season, up 1% from the previous season. As South Africa exports maize and soya bean, Annelie Coleman reports on the latest trends in the international grain and oilseed markets, amid fluctuations in weather conditions and ongoing armed conflicts.
