3 minutes with ...

Gerhard Diederi cks Head of Agriculture at Santam

If you were given R30 million to invest in agriculture, either in new or existing farming activities or in the agriculture value chain, how would you spend it?

Having had the opportunity to work in the agriculture sector for more than 35 years, I’ve been in the privileged position to observe from an unbiased position the good work done by some role players, the destructive work done by others, the duplication of costs, and, unfortunately the billions of rands spent on unsuccessful development projects.

I’d spend my R30 million to see how we could improve on these outcomes and influence policy certainty and a supportive regulatory environment.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

My father always taught me to be part of the solution and not part of the problem, even if it’s not your own idea or proposal but someone else’s.

If you were given carte blanche to effect one major change in South Africa tomorrow, how would you use this power?

I think that two of South Africa’s biggest challenges are unemployment and social grants. At least half of the recipients of grants are healthy young individuals who are unemployed. I’d implement a system whereby the recipient of the grant would have to do something in return at a fair labour price. If the grant were, say, R750/month, that would be about R10 billion worth of labour a month. We’d be amazed at what could be achieved with that!

What is the most important thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has taught you?

The pandemic has sped up the process with which we’ve embraced technology, and while the whole world has suffered from the effects of COVID-19, and will take a long time to recover from it, we will do a lot of things differently and more cost-effectively.

What is your favourite South African dish?

Leg of lamb with roast potatoes, rice, green beans and cinnamon pumpkin fritters, as prepared by my wife Magda.