Strategic management process for diverse farming businesses in the North West Province

Abstract

Agriculture plays a vital role towards shaping the economy of South Africa. The role of agriculture in South Africa in ensuring a strong food supply has been greatly emphasised by the department of Agriculture in their Strategic Plan for South African agriculture. The agricultural environment in South Africa changes just as much as any other corporate environment and has forced farm owners and managers to start thinking holistically. With the many challenges facing farming businesses in South Africa, including constantly rising input costs, an unwell labour market, discouraging political talks about land reform, price fluctuations for crops and very limited help with financing, it is essential that all activities and resources of the farming business be strategically planned and prioritised. It is essential that all individuals involved in managing the farming business understand where the farm is going, how it plans to get there, and the problems and/or opportunities that lay ahead. This study focused on agricultural businesses in the North West Province of South Africa, and the main objective was to establish whether a well-research strategic plan could benefit farm owners and farm managers to produce more successful results. The research objective was, firstly, to review the literature and determine the key enablers required for successful strategy implementation in the agriculture industry and to investigate different strategy management frameworks to give a structure to allocate resources effectively in order to ensure long-term achievement of goals that are set out in the strategy. The second objective of the study was to analyse the findings of the empirical study and make recommendations on how to improve on the strategy of the farming business. The study report is concluded by making recommendations and encouraging farm owners and managers to include strategic planning into their business for farming success.