INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL
INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURAL PARTNERSHIP PRODUCTION A practical, three-pronged approach to food security By Julian Palliam, President and CEO of Foskor. When the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, released the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey in October 2024, the focus was very much on how to achieve sustainable food security for all. While South Africa is relatively food secure as a country, the survey highlighted the fact that, at household level, many of the country’s people struggle with access to food. According to Statistics SA (Stats SA), around 80% of households report having adequate access to food, which places South Africa around the midway point on the Global Food Security Index. However, 15% of households (2.6-million) report having inadequate access to food and a further 6% (1.1-million) report having severely inadequate access to food. There are many structural and economic reasons for this, but the question we need to ask ourselves is simple: what do we need to do in order to alleviate the situation as quickly and effectively as possible? To put this challenge into context, South Africa is one of 106 countries worldwide that recognises the right to adequate food and clean water as a basic human right. Further, when the member states of the United Nations – including South Africa – adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, they defined the elimination of poverty and hunger as the top two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The fulfilment of these goals depends on food security, better nutrition, sustainable agriculture and access to meaningful work. This provides us with clear areas of focus; what we need are defined ways in which to realise the full potential in each of these areas. The three-pronged approach The burning question we therefore need to answer is, how do we get more food of better quality onto more tables? It goes without saying that a thriving and productive commercial agricultural sector is vital. At Foskor, it is our mission to be an enabler of agricultural production, both in South Africa and around the world. At home, we are the leading supplier of phosphate-based fertilisers to the agricultural sector and we export our products to international markets as diverse as the SADC countries, the DRC, Brazil, India, France, Norway and Japan. Supporting efficient food production at scale by providing access to seed, fertilisers and equipment has to be the first – and primary – prong to the food security solution. Secondly, we need to develop knowledge, skills and capacity within the agricultural and related sectors. This is necessary not only to improve productivity and support economic growth but because these sectors are significant employers. Agriculture alone 18 | www.opportunityonline.co.za PHOTO: Wolfgang Weiser on Pexels
The Acid Division manufactures phosphoric acid and granular fertilisers at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. employs approximately 5% of the working population and there is no doubt that access to decent, reliable work alleviates poverty and hunger for employees, their families and communities alike. The need to develop skills in these sectors is urgent and requires coordinated cooperation between the public and private sectors. For a start, skills development levies enable government to fund essential education and training programmes, which are aimed at filling the gap for skilled farmers, farm managers, technicians and agronomists. But private sector programmes that harness the power of e-learning to provide industry-relevant and accredited agricultural education have an equally important role to play, especially at community level. Partnerships like the one Foskor has with AgriColleges International are taking agricultural education into the heart of communities with programmes that are designed to empower residents through both education and development initiatives. Providing access via students’ smartphones, tablets or PCs, AgriColleges International offers AgriSETA-accredited courses in everything from an introduction to agribusiness to the cultivation of individual crops, pig farming and chicken farming. The organisation also offers national certificates (NFQ4 level) in General Agriculture, Plant Production, Animal Production and Cannabis and Hemp Production. The courses on offer are therefore suitable for individuals who would like to build a career in agriculture as well as for entrepreneurs and community organisations. This brings us to what are important but often-neglected contributors to food security – and the third prong of an integrated approach to the issue – namely home and community gardens. With access to food being affected by issues as diverse as poverty, unemployment, high food prices and climate change, household participation in food production can be – and is – a lifeline for many. ABOUT FOSKOR Foskor is a phosphate mining and processing operation that produces phosphates for South Africa’s agricultural sector and for export to countries around the world. It is the only vertically integrated producer of phosphate ore, phosphoric acid and granular fertiliser in the country and is a key enabler of food security in South Africa and around the world. The company mines and beneficiates phosphate-bearing rock at Phalaborwa in Limpopo, after which it is transported by rail to a dedicated production facility in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal where it is used to produce phosphoric acid and granular fertilisers – MAP (monoammonium phosphates). Sulphuric acid is also produced, which is used in the production of phosphoric acid, and we sell excess sulphuric acid that becomes available. Foskor also has magnetite, a by-product of phosphate rock beneficiation which was mined in the past and stored in a stockpile. Foskor is South Africa’s leading supplier of granular fertilisers, the core ingredient in nitrogen, phosphate and potassium fertiliser products known as NPKs. It is also a commercial producer of phosphoric and sulphuric acids and magnetite (a by-product of the phosphate beneficiation process), which are sold both locally and abroad. The company is ISO 9001 certified for Quality Management, ISO 14001 certified for Environmental Management, OHSAS 18001 certified for Occupational Health and Safety Management and SANS 16001 certified for HIV/AIDS Management. Its corporate social investment focus is on empowering disadvantaged communities to become self-sufficient through food production and on funding agricultural and related education for young people in these communities. Foskor was founded in 1951 by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). At present, only 14% of households are involved in any kind of food production, but this is changing. Community organisations and NPOs around the country are engaged in helping communities to establish food gardens, advocating for sustainable growing practices and fostering economic empowerment. This is enabling them to feed themselves sustainably and even to make a living by creating a market for locally grown produce. Feed the soil, feed the nation To summarise, the three-pronged approach to universal food security is to support and develop commercial agriculture and related sectors, to provide opportunities to develop agricultural skills at all levels and to promote widespread participation in home and community food gardening. Everyone has a role to play in making this happen and the responsibility for food sustainability lies with all of us. At the heart of it all is Foskor’s belief: feed the soil and you feed the nation. This is a belief rooted in that every man, woman and child will not go hungry and we will be able to create a better world for all. For further information, visit www.foskor.co.za Our offices can be found as follows: MINING DIVISION 27 Selati Road, Phalaborwa, Limpopo 1390 Tel: +27 15 789 2000 info@commsdesk.co.za ACID DIVISION 21 John Ross Parkway, Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal 3900 Tel: +27 35 902 3111 CORPORATE DIVISION Hertford Office Park, Building K, 2nd Floor, 90 Bekker Road, Vorna Valley, Midrand, Gauteng 1684 Tel: +27 11 347 0600
