Will “Feeding the Nation” become the new brand slogan for South Africa’s Agriculture sector? The final session of Nation in Conversation filmed on the last day of Nampo Harvest Day in Bothaville today tackled the highly engaging subject of Changing the Image of Agriculture.
Hosted by broadcasting heavyweight Jeremy Maggs, the session was marked by an honest and hard-hitting look at the image of agriculture.
Phumi suggested that the parties responsible for the brand were “fighting” and the only way any real solution could be found was if both parties could relate to a common goal. “Feeding the Nation is something that everyone can relate to,” she said.
Phumi said that there was a need to make agriculture cool again. “We need to sell agriculture from the perspective of it being a viable career choice, which can compete with, say, becoming a doctor or lawyer.”
Francois said there were a lot of good stories in agriculture which needed to be used to bridge the gap between the perception of agriculture and the reality. “South African agriculture is regarded as world class internationally; locally though the issue is clouded by other factors.”
“I don’t think that South African agriculture has a brand in the commercial sense,” said Andy. “I agree with Andy, the brand is flawed,” said Phumi. “I agree,” said Rob, “but who owns the conversation?”
To find out more, tune in to the whole show via the links below for what could probably be described as the most engaging and forth-right discussion on the image of agriculture in South Africa.
Visit the Nation in Conversation website. Download the Nation in Conversation App from the various App stores and join in the conversation live in real time. Watch all the episodes on Youtube and check the website for the broadcast times of the episodes on the different television networks. Also follow the discussion on Twitter @nationconverse and check out our regular posts on our Facebook page and Instagram.