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Farmers, Ferraris and harvesting good investments in Africa

From the soil: Agriculture value chains could unlock massive wealth for Botswana
From the soil: Agriculture value chains could unlock massive wealth for Botswana

In April 2012, legendary US investor and market commentator Jim Rogers made a bold pronouncement: Farmers, not bankers would be the next group driving Ferraris and Lamborghinis.

In a popular interview with Forbes magazine, he said: “More people in America study public relations than study farming. We have no farmers. You went to Princeton; nobody you went to school with became a farmer. I went to Yale; nobody I went to Yale with became a farmer. The average age of farmers in America is 58 years old. In Japan, the average age is 66. In Australia, it’s 58.”

Fast-forward to 2021 and while there are not a lot of sports car-owning farmers on the African continent [yet], the investment case for the agriculture sector is intact.

Editor's Comment
Justice delayed is trust denied

Batswana who marched peacefully for 'Justice for Tshepi' demanded answers. They have now received a detailed account of police investigation and a promise that the file is with the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The real test is whether the state now keeps its word without further prodding. In his address, the minister asked the nation to trust the process. He spoke of rigour, not neglect, and pointed to 10 months of...

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