Total working to close the gender gap in SA’s agriculture, forestry, fishery and mining industries

SOUTH AFRICA’S agriculture, forestry, fishery and mining industries are categorised as its primary economic sectors. They rely on natural resources to function and Total South Africa has, according to Nne-Mpho Siaga, Corporate Affairs Manager, been well invested since its inception in 1954.

She adds, “Women make up half of the country’s population and to truly transform our national primary economic sectors, so we need to invest in and encourage their increased participation. If we give them the right tools, they have the potential to make a real impact in terms of tackling an industry’s challenges as well as those that we, as a nation, are currently facing.”

Siaga reminds that only around a third of the industry’s workforce is made up of women. Yet the effects of improving women’s participation rates in commercial farming, for example, are far-reaching.

“Studies have shown that women’s incomes have a big impact on food security, and it follows, then, that increasing the number of women drawing salaries and wages from the industry could, in turn, also help us tackle the challenge of food insecurity.”

Investment

Encouraging investment, she speaks of how private and smaller businesses are competing against multinational companies, “This puts them under immense pressure and their participation is largely limited to the small economies of their local communities. The few that are already in the market, need support in the form of upskilling and financial investment to sustain this challenging phase. “

Marketing

“As the business environment continues to evolve, we are seeing marked growth in different sectors and shrinkages in others. Urbanisation and digitisation are engulfing industries like agriculture and fishery, which are widely considered outdated career paths and investments. We need to market the industry and honour its leaders for it to remain attractive to upcoming generations. Hopefully, digital research and conversations around how digitisation is changing the sector is will ultimately prove a draw card for development in the industry.

DAFF Female Entrepreneur Awards

As an investor in the agriculture industry, Total is a main strategic partner with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) for its annual Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The initiative is aimed at driving inclusion of women in the economic mainstream of agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as empowering entrepreneurs and encouraging investment in the sector.

“These awards are an important steppingstone towards the elimination of skewed participation in the sector,” she adds. “They are open to entrepreneurs in a range of different categories, from around the country, and the overall winner is awarded a prize of R500 000 to be invested back into her business. Through the awards, we acknowledge the strides already made by women in the sector and encourage their further participation.”

“Thus far they have made a significant contribution to the empowerment of women in the economic mainstream with 336 women entrepreneurs who have already benefitted from the initiative. Last year’s figures also reflect that the number of young people entering the awards is on the rise, a promising sign for the sector overall - considering that the average age of a farmer in South Africa is currently around 62.”