WINE INFLUENCER

In this third instalment of our new monthly series of interviews with leading
personalities in the global wine and agriculture industries, Anton Pretorius
chats to agribusiness expert Professor Marcos Fava Neves.

industry. Technology is fundamental and sophisticated these days, and want

producers need a mindset change for
what’s coming.
AP: DO YOU THINK SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCERS
Producers can no WILL BE ABLE TO ADOPT NEW TECHNOLOGY AND
longer rely on the PRACTICES FOR THE FARMS OF THE FUTURE?
MFN: South Africa’s agriculture
expected increase landscape is similar to that of Brazil
to see how companies are making
themselves profitable, and preserving
and respecting the environment.
They also want to see what kind of
policies companies are putting in
place to include people. With the world
focused on creating opportunities
and inclusion, sustainability in terms

in demand for food
globally to ensure
future profitability. To
stay in business, they
have to increase their
profitability margins.
But how? Changes
in the demand for
food will shape global
agriculture markets in
ways we’ve not seen
where producers struggle with the exact of people is important. Companies
same issues. I believe South African should create opportunities for their
producers will respond effectively to people to progress and move forward.
Sustainability is a major concept.
a changing landscape and adopt new
technology and farming practices. The Instead of cutting back on our thinking
Marcos Fava trick is to change mindsets in order
to make the country more business-
about it, we must increase it.
Nenes, global
agribusiness orientated. That means a country that’s
AP: YOU MENTIONED DISRUPTORS SUCH AS
expert and part-
time professor of
able to generate value in business and
make people want to work, progress and
UBER MIGHT MAKE MIGHT CARS REDUNDANT.
strategy at the
University of São
generate income.
IN TERMS OF AGRICULTURE, HOW TECH WILL
DISRUPT THE AGRICULTURE SPACE AND
Paulo (USP) and
We have to rid ourselves of old
concepts and work towards adopting
SPECIFICALLY OUTSOURCING?
Fundacão Getulio
Vargas (FGV) a more business-minded approach MFN: A sharing economy that includes
businesses such as Uber and Airbnb will
with agriculture. The South African
business school in
Brazil. government should ask: What can we do disrupt the agriculture space in years to
to make business more competitive and come. I think farms will become much

ADOPTING.
integrated in the global world? South more competitive. Producers will reduce
before, says Marcos Africa has a capable private sector with their assets and have fewer tractors and
less equipment, and when they require
Fava Neves, a global are two forms of tech that could help
producers. The first is data. We have
forward-thinking organisations such
as Agbiz. While touring your country equipment or services, they’ll be able to
agribusiness expert hire them.

ADAPTING.
a wealth of data coming from drones
and part-time professor and satellites, making it possible for us
to kill the concept of “hectare” and lean
of strategy at the more towards the concept of “square
metre”. I predict future farms will adopt
University of São Paulo the square-metre approach. Every
(USP) and Fundacão square metre will need to be managed
three times in the last 12 months, I visited
farms where the latest technology was
already being implemented. South
This is also linked to the government.
It must allow outsourcing to run its
Africa has an opportunity to be a global
agriculture player. It’s already a global
natural course in the country and
accept it as common practice. It helps
player in the wine industry but there’s create services and employment. We
still a lot of work to be done. The private in agriculture must consider how this

Getulio Vargas (FGV)
business school
in Brazil.
AP: THE DEMAND FOR FOOD IS EXPECTED
TO INCREASE FROM 59-98% BY 2050. HOW
WILL THIS SHAPE THE GLOBAL AGRICULTURE
LANDSCAPE IN FUTURE?
MFN: Experts predict the global
population to grow to 9.5 billion people
by 2050 with 80% of that population
coming from Africa and Asia, and
subsequently the demand for food
will also increase. This will bring
about significant changes in the global
agriculture landscape because we’ll
need to do more with less. Across the
DISRUPTING.
globe, arable land is becoming less
available. The horizontal growth of
arable farming land has forced the
world to look towards continents such as
Africa for agricultural development.
I expect prices to stay the same.
Producers will need to adjust margins
and focus on cost controls and efficiency,
and take advantage of collaborative
partnerships in a new sharing economy.
Business models such as Uber and
Airbnb are being applied to the farm. To
make land growth vertical, production
should come in the areas that we’re
currently using. Agriculture will be a
lucrative business in the next 20 years
for producers who can adapt quickly
to technology and innovative farming
practices, including those who are
willing to work more collaboratively.
AP: HOW WILL TECHNOLOGY IMPACT THE FUTURE
OF AGRICULTURE?
MFN: It’s absolutely essential that
producers start adopting new
technologies in the agri-space. There
productively and effectively in the
future. For example there’s currently
agriculture machinery in operation
in Brazil that’s designed to recognise
wheat using a light and spray fertiliser
more precisely and effectively. This is an
example of how technology will make it
possible to farm more methodically with
square-metre management.
The other agri-tech aspect is the use
of plants that are being scientifically
developed to be resistant to disease
and drought. I recently witnessed
plant research done at Berkeley in
California where scientists changed the
breathing patterns of a tobacco plant.
By opening less photosynthesis cells
the plant receives only the required
carbon needed from the air and also
loses less water. Plant engineering
and square-metre management both
apply to grape producers and the wine
and public sectors need to take hands to
help producers with strategic planning,
meeting evolving customer needs and
creating more opportunities.
AP: HOW IMPORTANT IS SUSTAINABILITY IN THE
PRODUCER TECH WAVE? WILL IT HELP CREATE
OPPORTUNITIES?
MFN: Sustainability is key and can be
broken down into three pillars, namely
economic, environmental and people.
Businesses must be made sustainable
within the boundaries of the economy
or it becomes increasingly difficult
to apply environmental laws and
regulations, and labour laws to create
inclusion.
It’s also essential to preserve our
resources for the next 10 generations
to come. We have to produce in a
sustainable way because this is what
consumers expect. They’re a lot more
collaborative, sharing economy will
impact our business. The days of buying
expensive equipment and leaving it
idle for three-quarters of the year are
over. These days you can hire services
and equipment when you need them.
We need more people to think this way
to become more competitive. We in
agriculture must think about how this
collaborative, sharing economy will
impact our business, including the wine
industry, because then you can pick up
some assets, such as bottling assets, and
make this moveable to help the business
when it needs the service. So there’s
no longer a need to buy an expensive
structure and leave it idle for most of
the year. Instead you can hire services
when you need them. I love this because
it changes our way of thinking. We
need more people to think this way to
become more competitive. w

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