Finding Common Ground with Wandile Sihlobo

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Join us again for another exciting online event!

Jacques Velleman, the founder of The Business Book Club will be interviewing Wandile Sihlobo the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).

They will be chatting about his book Finding Common Ground: Land Equity and Agriculture

Wandile Sihlobo is also a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Advisory Council as well as the Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture.

He holds a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University and has previously served as an economist at Grain South Africa (Grain SA). Wandile was named Agriculturalist of the Year (2018) by Agricultural Writers SA, and was included on the Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans list for 2019.

Wandile is perfectly positioned to provide a well-rounded, accessible view of agriculture in South Africa. He spent his school holidays in the rural Eastern Cape, studied agricultural economics at university, has worked in private-sector agriculture, consulting with farmers across the country, and has been an adviser to government as part of South African policy making bodies.

Finding Common Ground is a selection of key articles from Wandile’s regular Business Day column, framed with insightful commentary and context. The book covers the broad themes that have marked current discussions and outlines the challenges and opportunities faced by South Africa’s agricultural sector,

including:

• The contentious and complex issue of land reform;
• The potential for new leadership to revive the sector;
• How agriculture can drive development and job creation;
• Cannabis as an exportable commodity;
• The urgent need for agricultural policy to address gender equity and youth involvement;
• Technological developments and mega-trends that are underpinning agricultural development;
• The importance of trade in growing South Africa’s agriculture and;
• Key lessons that South Africa and other African countries can learn from.

Ultimately, Wandile is optimistic about the future of South Africa’s agricultural

sector and shows us all – from policymakers to the general public – how much

common ground we truly have.

Because this is an online event, we are unable to collect books for our cause to distribute them to disadvantaged communities. We would like to encourage you to donate an amount you are comfortable with in order for us to purchase books for this cause. When you book your space, you will have an option to contribute to this worthy cause.