“I’m So Proud to be South African, Leading from Where We Stand”
Flying back from Switzerland after having attended the international Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) in Basel and the Global Andermatt Group CEO Meeting, I came back with a renewed sense of pride for being South African and the ability to lead from where we stand, despite all the challenges we face. I think it is our resilience and continuous hope for a better tomorrow which fuels our heartbeat and drives us forward. No more so than in Agriculture, and especially in the Biosolutions industry.
Despite the devastating effects of the war in the Ukraine and the economic and political pressures weighing down on Europe, walking into ABIM was a complete cultural contrast. One was carried onto a wave of renewed energy and heightened enthusiasm for sustainability, innovation and opportunities for biorational development.
Over 1550 people from 53 countries, from startups to big industries, attended the convention. It was a combination of industry exhibitions, research and commercial presentations, panel discussions, business meetings and one on one connections – all focusing on moving the scientific, commercial and agronomic industries forward. On the Innovation front, we were very proud of our sister company Andermatt Suisse who won Silver in the Bernard Blum Awards for Novel Biocontrol Solutions with their new virus product, Plutex, a granulovirus for diamondback moth control.
The Andermatt Madumbi Team was well represented technically and commercially, with Ben Krog, Wilma Macpherson and myself in attendance.
These networking opportunities are valuable to the South African industry as we continue to search for technology from around the world to add to our continuous pipeline and portfolio of biosolutions.
This constant search is also enhanced by leveraging off our own stable of innovation coming from our Andermatt production companies within the Group. The Andermatt Group CEO Meeting and the Andermatt Group Portfolio Meetings followed after ABIM and further diverse connections and challenging global conversations continued to ensure we constantly move forward, leading from where we stand.
This constant search is also enhanced by leveraging off our own stable of innovation coming from our Andermatt production companies within the Group. The Andermatt Group CEO Meeting and the Andermatt Group Portfolio Meetings followed after ABIM and further diverse connections and challenging global conversations continued to ensure we constantly move forward, leading from where we stand.
The agricultural industry, the food supply industry, the logistics industry, the complete value chain, both locally and globally, is in a state of change with a lot of barriers to entry coming into play. How responsibly, focused and dynamically, we lead, from where we stand, through this change will determine how well we balance the food safety and food security conversation going forward.
And I leave you with these words from Martin Andermatt, Our Andermatt Group Chairman, “Integrity first when providing value to our farmers – with a portfolio to solve as many problems as possible.”
Michelle Lesur
CEO Andermatt Madumbi – South Africa