News from the CEO’s desk – July 2017
Over the years, the question “What does Kwanalu do?” has been asked. The activities of Kwanalu are viewed as general affairs/shared agricultural interests which cut across commodities, municipalities etc. Often the activities of Kwanalu appear to be removed from the day-to-day life of individual farmers; for example, Kwanalu’s communications and activities on one day might be 100% spot on, but tomorrow another matter could be attended to which the farmer is removed from and which has no relevance at that point in time to them. Interestingly that very issue which didn’t feel important or relevant at the time often crops up at a later stage when action is expected from Kwanalu. The interests of members are being attended to constantly but each farmer’s priorities may differ from time to time. Kwanalu will always endeavour to ensure that, per its mandate, the general affairs of the union are attended to in a professional and ethical manner.
Our members are the ones who combine natural resources, technology, good judgement and general management skills in such a manner to ensure financial and economic survival as well as sustained profitability. Policy and legislation which impacts on this are however, largely beyond an individual farmer’s control. Given the complexity of the policy environment which is difficult due to various demands on the sector, such as those relating to land, labour, natural resources, administrative compliance etc., the collective value of a member organisation is essential today.