Agriculture

Not a particularly specific blog posting but something I thought I would throw out into the ether.

I had an interesting interview with Jon Maguire the Chief Investment Officer of a UK fund management company called Cru. Scanning some of the news sites, I see that Maguire and Cru have raised a few hackles in SA and the UK.

Whether people like them or their investment methodology is not of any particular consequence to me. However I did want to touch on one of the comments he made.

One of the sectors they believe provide some great opportunities are the African agricultural sectors. "Farming" will never hold the appeal of high finance or technology, but the reality is there will always be mouths to feed, there is a global shortage of food (i.e. plenty of demand for the product) and with banking on the back foot agriculture is one of the areas where they are seeing some opportunities.

They've invested in places like Malawi, where farming is a relatively low cost investment.

With the global economy facing a massive downturn, food remains a highly defensive industry in which to be in - as they say when things go pear shaped there are always two sectors you can rely on - Food and Beer!

Would be interesting to hear from other entrepreneurs and investors about issues for or against the South African / African agriculture sector as a viable industry to consider.