25 January 2024
By: Peter Lebogang Mashala
The African Farming Agri-Imbizo 2024 is a significant event for agricultural innovators, paving the way for a brighter future for South African agriculture. Let’s introduce you to the speakers.
Nick Serfontein was born in 1948 on the farm Liebenbergstroom near Edenville in the Free State. He grew up with a love for cultivating the soil and rearing animals but his parents discouraged him from farming due to the hardships involved. He studied engineering at the University of Pretoria and worked at several engineering firms before finally fulfilling his dream of farming in 1983 when he bought 250 hectares and started a Bonsmara stud.
Over the years, he acquired more land, expanded the stud and added a feed factory, feedlot and abattoir. In 2010, he entered the retail market, completing the value chain of his business. Today, the Sernick Group comprises an integrated value chain producing Bonsmara cattle, a feedlot, feed factory, abattoir, meat processing plant and retail butcheries.
Nick has received numerous awards and accolades over the years, including LNR herd of the year, Free State Farmer of the Year, and Mentor of the Year in 2016. He also received an accolade as Beeld’s newsmaker of the year in 2018 after his open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa went viral.
He serves on the Advisory Panel on Land Reform, appointed by the president, with nine other members.
As the founder of the Sernick Group, one of the largest vertically integrated red meat value chain businesses in the country, he will share the story of the company’s success with the audience.
Nick has implemented one of the most successful and impactful empowerment projects, the Sernick Emerging Farmers Programme, in partnership with the Jobs Fund. It has been a huge success and Nick will share the story behind it with the audience.
He will also be a part of a panel discussion about the impact of commercial farmers on the development of new-generation farmers. The discussion will look at different ways commercial farmers can support the development of future farmers.
For more information on the African Farming Agri-Development Imbizo and to book, go to https://projekte.landbou.com/african-farming-agri-development-imbizo/index.html
