The Link between Agriculture and African Soccer
It all began on 15 May 2004 when FIFA President, Sepp Blatter, declared South Africa as the future host of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Years of planning, sweat, tears and a measure of African luck followed to produce the current scenes of noisy vuvuzellas, jubilant supporters and nervous players. Africans from all corners of this vast continent look on in delight while South Africans, as the first African country to host the event, have good reason to be immensely proud.
What lead to South Africa being accepted as the host to an event of such colossal proportions; what were the development steps taken in order to reach the starting point for the further developments that have ensued post the 2004 announcement? The South African Government is using the 2010 World Cup to hasten economic development and growth. However, can the advances achieved thus far be integrated into future development strategies for South Africa? Let's take a look at the economic proportions provided for in preparation for the World Cup.
According to research conducted by the Grant Thornton firm, the World Cup will attract between 250 000 - 480, 000 tourists. In last month's column I touched on the point that this could be a golden opportunity to showcase investment opportunities to these visitors; particularly as the global financial crisis has prompted many countries to look for foreign direct investment in order to revamp their flagging economies. A small to medium milling operation would be a good example of a possible business partnership or investment - the end product (such as organic flour) could be ear-marked purely for export.
Although the Government is estimated to have spent up to R600 billion on infrastructure developments for the event, up to R120 billion of this incorporates upgrades or new additions to transport systems that will benefit South Africans long after the end of the World Cup. It is debatable whether the remaining R480 billion infrastructure investment will generate the funds required to maintain it in the future. It is also unclear how many of the approximately 415, 400 jobs generated by the event will be sustainable thereafter. The World Cup tourists are estimated to spend up to R8.5 billion during their stay in South Africa, with the Government receiving approximately R19.3 billion in incomes taxes.
A workable suggestion for turning the gains from the World Cup into a sustainable solution may be to put (even a percentage of it) into Agriculture. Interestingly, According to Bread For The World Institute, African countries that spent more than 10% of their budgets on agriculture between 2004-2007 reduced the numbers of starving people within the country. For example, Malawi reduced the percentage of starving people in the population from 45% to 29%. Surely this would be a desirable outcome for South Africa, where starvation and unemployment levels are rife?
I read recently that our Government made a total of 17 Guarantees, contained in the bid book to FIFA, in relation to delivery of the 2010 World Cup. Imagine if 17 guarantees could be provided to agricultural SMME's or cooperative projects in South Africa. The primary agriculture linkage would benefit hugely from acquisition of value adding equipment such as milling facilities. To illustrate this, a 3ton/hour capacity milling plant produces up to 1300 tons/month of quality maize flour and approximately 330 tons of animal feed. That is enough to feed 150,000 people; as well as provide employment to 25-30 directly and up to 120 people indirectly. In addition, food costs can be reduced by as much as 25%. Just one Government or Financial Institution guarantee would go a long way to getting such a project up and running. Imagine 17 of these projects!
The dominoes effect, and thus increased likelihood of sustainability of such a project/s, speaks loudly for itself. Despite the vast majority of the country being enraptured by World Cup coverage on television sets, pubs, shebeens, fan parks and stadiums; I draw your attention back to your own instance by extending the example to include sister industries to milling . As a baker, are you aware that you can reduce the cost of your biggest input costs by as much as 50% by milling your own flour? How about being able to control your own flour moisture and protein levels for biscuit manufacture or pizza bases? Have you considered combining your efforts with a local farmer to ensure /offer 100% organic products?
Just six out of the thirty two countries that qualified for the 2010 World Cup are from Africa. However, that is still an improvement on 2006's five African countries. Perhaps South Africa can pave the way to sustainable World Cup gains investment and development policies for other African countries still to host the cup. Perhaps our (potential, hypothetical) focus on sustainable and profitable multi-level agricultural projects will inspire other African countries to do the same. After all, increased standards of living often result in increased participation in leisure activities; possibly in this case, even soccer. Who knows - perhaps revision of agricultural budget usage and policies could eventually contribute to increased numbers of African countries participating in future World Cups!
Wishful thinking? Need a more down-to-earth approach? If you have any comments or queries then please do get in touch with us.
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