Bien Donné Farm - Agri Promo

The real value of value
chains in Change and
Sustainability in Agriculture:
The Farmsecure way
A
ll the resources that we need to sustain ourselves
as a human race are either mined or
farmed, making these the two most relevant
industries of our time, says Jerome Yazbek, CEO
Farmsecure.
The 21st Century has been defined by an ever increasing
global population and the struggle to manage
the planet’s resources to sustain the human
race’s growth. In recent years, agriculture has gone
from obscurity, seen as irrelevant, high risk and unsustainable,
to the next big thing. Why? Because
agriculture, when viewed and practiced holistically,
can provide solutions to all of the above mentioned
challenges facing man. In 2004, Jerome Yazbek was
approached by a group of maize farmers in the Free
State, and the question they posed to him was simple:
“Is it possible to create a business model that
will make agriculture both sustainable and profitable?”
Simply answered the answer was ‘yes’. During its inception,
Farmsecure developed a model founded on
four basic principles that encapsulates the pillars of its
agricultural value chain.
• Scientific farming
• Working capital
• Risk mitigation and
• Price guarantee
These four principles are the base of Farmsecure’s
holistic approach to the industry. Through time, the
practice of these principles led Farmsecure to the
BIEN DONNÉ AGRI CAPE WEEK 2012
realization that agricultural profit, like that of mining,
lies in the power of a complete value chain which is
integrated from ‘soil to shelf’. Sustainability and profitability
does not lie in one piece of the pie, but rather in
maximizing the pie as a whole.
Due to its belief in the power of an optimized value
chain, Farmsecure never desired to be a market player
in one agricultural sector, but has resolved to be
represented throughout the industry, maximizing potential
for increased profit back to farm level.
Farmsecure is represented in agricultural inputs, primary
agriculture and agricultural outputs, with primary
agriculture or ‘the farm’ at its core.
The population faces three
core challenges today, namely
food, water and job creation.
All of these factors highlight the
importance and the need for
sustainable and profitable agricultural
enterprises globally.
By being represented throughout the agricultural value
chain, Farmsecure and its family of companies ensure
that its producers and farming operations are sustainable
and profitable in a very tangible way, achieving its
vision to contribute to solutions that will address the
core challenges facing man.
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