In 2015 Agri SA delegated the authority to the Agri SA Executive Management under the leadership of Omri van Zyl to incubate a new company called Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd.
The services of this new entity will be focussed on the food value chain and provided to a spectrum of clients. This includes involvement, exploring, establishing and funding of commercial agricultural partnerships between established and developing farming entities.
Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd consists of highly experienced and qualified expertise that have considerable exposure to and a thorough understanding of the complex financial, production, logistical, operational and contextual dimensions of commercial partnerships and other ventures in the commercial agricultural sector.
Given the exponential growth of Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, the need has arisen for a full-time CEO and its own board of directors.
The board of Agri SA has therefore decided to appoint van Zyl, the current CEO of Agri SA for the past five years, as the new CEO of Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. He will report directly to the Board of Directors of Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd. Agri SA is the 100% shareholder of Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd.
Van Zyl is a qualified attorney and holds a BA Law, LLB, qualifications in project management, and business development and Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Pretoria. His vast experience of commercial enterprises and exposure to the broader commercial agricultural network will certainly be an asset to Agri SA Enterprises (Pty) Ltd.
Agri SA will continue to focus on policy research, analysis and advocacy. The various Centres of Excellence involving policy matters like rural safety, land, natural resources, economics and trade, labour and development and disaster risk management will continue to resort under Agri SA. These Centres of Excellence consist of professional and experienced policy experts who in turn provide a range of services to the provincial, commodity and corporate chambers affiliated to Agri SA.
The Board of Agri SA has decided to appoint Christo van der Rheede as the Executive Director of Agri SA to lead the policy drive for agriculture. He has been the Deputy Executive Director for the past five years.
