The third Women’s Voice in Agriculture competition has honoured women helping shape South Africa’s agricultural sector, recognising contributions across farming, research, entrepreneurship, food security and community development.
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Hosted by Hollard, the competition recognises women contributing across the agricultural value chain, from farming and research to entrepreneurship and community development.
As agriculture becomes more complex, the risks and opportunities facing the sector are increasingly interconnected. A challenge in one part of the agricultural value chain can affect production, logistics, market access, cash flow, employment and the communities that depend on the sector. This makes collaboration across the ecosystem more important than ever.
Collaboration across the value chain
Andries Wiese, head of agriculture at Hollard Insure, said Women’s Voice in Agriculture reflects the kind of connected thinking needed to support the sector’s future.
“Agriculture does not operate in a linear fashion. It is an ecosystem of farmers, brokers, researchers, agribusinesses, communities, financiers, logistics partners and many others whose work is deeply connected. Our role is to understand those connections and help the sector navigate risk in a more informed, practical and sustainable way,” said Wiese.
He said the women recognised through the competition bring insight and experience that can help the broader industry better understand how the sector is changing.
“The women being celebrated here are helping the sector connect the dots between innovation and implementation, between risk and resilience and between commercial sustainability and community impact. Their work gives the industry a richer view of what agriculture needs now and what it will need next.”
Growing future leaders
Terryn Palani, chief people officer at Hollard, said the agricultural sector understands that nothing of value grows overnight.
“Every field begins with someone preparing the soil, planting a seed, protecting something fragile and trusting that the seed which cannot be seen yet, will one day blossom into thriving vegetation. If we want to see more women leading the agriculture sector tomorrow, we have to cultivate them today,” said Palani.
The Women’s Voice in Agriculture finalists were selected by an independent panel of adjudicators from thousands of entries. The entrants represented a broad spectrum of agricultural subsectors, ranging from commercial livestock farming to small-scale crop production.
Johann Pretorius, director at Future Agri Perspective Group, explained the rationale behind the initiative and its vision to support the growth of women-led agricultural enterprises and initiatives.
“When I conceptualised the awards, I looked for like-minded organisations like Hollard who share my values of support the agricultural sector,” Pretorius said. “Our partnership with Hollard was a meeting of minds and represented shared synergies between parties that seek to foster the development of the agricultural ecosystem.”
Award winners
An independent panel of adjudicators selected the top five finalists:
• Grietha Van Rensburg – Rural safety and livestock theft
• Boniswa Kuhle Dlamini – Farmer development
• Christel Basson – Advocacy for rural development
• Carla Myburgh – Leading the future of agriculture
• Petru Fourie – The invisible link (animal feed)
Petru Fourie was the third-place winner, followed by Christel Basson as the runner-up and Carla Myburgh as the overall winner.
Accepting the award, Myburgh encouraged women entrepreneurs across the agricultural sector to use their influence to drive meaningful change.
“For my part, I intend to do exactly that. I will continue to champion women’s inclusion and empowerment in agriculture while keeping my feet on the ground and my eyes on the horizon,” said Myburgh.
The Women’s Voice in Agriculture programme also recognised several industry leaders with Special Recognition Awards. The recipients were:
• Rona Beukes – Economist, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
• Wiana Louw – General Manager, Southern African Grain Laboratory (SAGL)
• Fhumulani Ratshitanga – Chief Executive Officer, Fruit South Africa
• Dr Renee Prins – Founder and Director, CenGen, and former Extraordinary Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University
• Annelize Crosby – Head of Legal Intelligence, Agbiz
