WORKSHOPS

In grain handling, forewarned is forearmed

The spotlight was firmly on risk mitigation at the recent GOSA Cape workshop, where speakers presented a number of pro-active steps within the industry.

Jaco Joubert, manager of health and safety at Overberg Agri, updated the more than 70 attendees at Aan De Doorns Wine Cellar near Worcester on progress with a uniform SHEQ (safety, health, environment and quality) protocol for the grain handling and storage industry.

Forensic investigator, Wimpie Nel from Verifraud, discussed the tactics of prolific grain theft syndicates active in the country’s northern provinces to enable Western Cape operations to ‘do their homework’, should these syndicates expand into the province.

Renowned economist, Dr Roelof Botha, also gave a wide-ranging analysis of South Africa’s political and macro-economic conditions.

Unique standards for a unique industry
Jaco Joubert outlined efforts of Agbiz Grain to institute industry-specific occupational health, safety and quality audit protocol for grain handlers, as the sector’s risk profile and quality concerns do not resemble that of other industries. This approach is similar to what the Global GAP (good agricultural practice) and Siza (Sustainability Initiative of South Africa) achieved for other sectors in the agricultural environment.

The first draft of the protocol is in its final stage of development and will soon be ready for real-life testing. ‘Once we know it works, it will be rolled out throughout the industry to give everyone an opportunity to provide input. Once that is done, we will be able to ascertain how often audits will take place and who will perform them,’ he said. ‘By conducting the audits we’ll know where the issues are and what aspects need improving.’

Loopholes abound
Wimpie Nel gave a sobering account of the myriad ways in which syndicates infiltrate the grain transport and silo industry. These include falsifying documentation used to verify weighbridge records and access control in and out of silo complexes in order to steal truckloads of grain.

He warned that lapses in access control and site monitoring could void insurance claims for stolen grain stocks. He also outlined how the use of WhatsApp to book truck drivers has made the entire road freight component of the industry vulnerable to be hijacked by syndicates that take over legitimate driver verification documentation and then replace those drivers with syndicate members that redirect grain loads to illicit recipients.

‘Syndicates undoubtedly target the companies with the least safety measures in place. You want to ensure that your risk is mitigated, and everything is in place to ensure the integrity of every shipment of grain coming into or out of a silo complex.’

He said any camera system should be equipped with licence plate recognition technology and should be able to store all records up to six months, ‘because it’s only then that you’ll find out whether you’re short’. Any camera footage should also be stored and monitored off-site, as server rooms are frequently targeted during armed robberies, so on-site footage is destroyed.

He urged all silo operators and grain transporters to engage the services of a forensic expert to perform a thorough risk analysis and put measures in place to keep syndicates out of their facilities.

Harmful monetary policy
Dr Roelof Botha said that the South African agricultural sector deserves more government support than it receives.

He contrasted the working hours put in on farms and the civil service and pointed out that agriculture excels in capital formation through its constant acquisition of machinery and construction of infrastructure. The sector showed the highest average annual real growth in fixed capital formation between 2011 and 2024. Over the same period, only the finance and business services performed better when it came to the average annual real growth in value added by the sector.

‘Agriculture is by far the most strategic industry in any country. A cell phone is very handy thing, but you can’t eat it,’ he said.

He said a number of key economic indicators – among them new bond approvals, retail trade sales and household resilience – showed a strengthening economy, but he lambasted the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee for increasing interest rates to the highest level in 15 years and keeping them high even as consumer price inflation started dropping. Botha said without such hawkish monetary policy, the South African economy would have been much stronger, as interest payments would instead have been spent on goods and services.

‘Our GDP would have been R300 billion higher, and Mr Godongwana (Enoch Godongwana, minister of finance) would have had R50 billion more (tax income) in his pocket at the time of his first attempt at a national budget in March. A VAT increase wouldn’t even have been on the table.’

He reiterated the political risk of South Africa’s involvement in BRICS even though South Africa’s most important trading partners are five Western and Southern African countries.

He also said the successes of DA ministers in the Government of National Unity will not go unnoticed in upcoming municipal and national elections, particularly home affairs minister Leon Schreiber clearing a backlog of 250 000 IDs inherited from his predecessor – crucial for poor citizens to access government grants.

Valuable contributions
Dries van Jaarsveld, acting GOSA Cape chairman, said the day was a resounding success and underscored the importance of risk mitigation in various fields.

‘Having a uniform audit system that ensures a common approach throughout our operations ensures that we as an industry can effectively mitigate our risk.’

He said Nel’s talk convinced him to make changes at the depot he manages (he is the manager of Bester Feed & Grain’s Silo Bag Depot at Moorreesburg) and said Nel’s description of security breaches urged grain handling professionals to reconsider their security practices.

‘Dr. Botha’s contribution was also invaluable, because macro economic events affect all of us; all our services are influenced by events outside of our ambit and our control, and it is important for us to understand these factors.’

Article, photos and videos supplied by Jeanne van der Merwe

This second FREE online workshop of the year was organised and hosted by GOSA on 08 May. With the theme, ‘Trains, Trucks and Terminals: Navigating grain logistics in 2025’ this relevant topic offered attendees insightful views on challenges facing grain logistics as seen from a rail, terminal and road transport perspective.

The workshop, facilitated by Dries Dannhauser (GOSA board member), was concluded with a panel discussion including the following workshop speakers: Reshad Yusuf (Transnet Freight Rail); Jackie Goodwin (SABT) and Tom Terblanche (Grain Carriers). Click on the windows below for individual presentations as well as the panel discussion.

Proper Preperation Prevents Poor Performance (PPPPP)

Danksy GOSA se gewilde aanlyn werkswinkel op 20 Februarie 2025, is ‘n opname van elke spreker se aanbieding nou beskikbaar! 🌾💡 Kundiges van OVK, NWK, AFGRI, Senwes en VKB het waardevolle insigte gedeel oor meganiese en elektriese voorbereiding, wetlike voldoening, risikobestuur en beroepsgesondheid. Met ‘n groot verwagte somergraanoes wat voorlê, is behoorlike voorbereiding die sleutel tot sukses. GOSA bedank Bessemer Africa PTY Ltd, wat die werkswinkel geborg het.

Thanks to GOSA’s popular online workshop on 20 February 2025, a recording of each speaker’s presentation are now available! 🌾💡 Experts from OVK, NWK, AFGRI, Senwes and VKB, shared valuable insights on mechanical and electrical preparation, legal compliance, risk management, and occupational health. With an expected large summer grain harvest ahead, proper preparation is the key to success. GOSA thanks our sponsor for this workshop, Bessemer Africa PTY Ltd.