Farmers, Ferraris and harvesting good investments in Africa
Monday, August 09, 2021 | 850 Views |
From the soil: Agriculture value chains could unlock massive wealth for Botswana
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.
Whilst celebrating milestones in inclusivity, with notably P5 billion awarded to vulnerable groups, the report sounds a 'siren' on a dangerous and growing trend: the ballooning use of micro-procurement. That this method, designed for small-scale, efficient purchases, now accounts for a staggering 25% (P8 billion) of total procurement value is not a sign of agility, but a 'red flag'. The PPRA’s warning is unequivocal and must be...