She will be taking over the vacancy left by Dr Mono Mashaba who served the industry for many years. Speirs holds an MSc in agriculture and is currently a PhD candidate.

She has worked in agriculture since 2009 when she started as head of agriculture at the East London Industrial Development Zone. Since then, she has gained extensive experience in senior management in the agriculture sector in South Africa and abroad, where she worked in the United States, Japan, and with the United Nations and European Union in Italy.

Speirs is currently a ministerial trustee for the Red Meat Industry Trust of South Africa and a board member of AllJoy Foods. Formerly, she was a vice chairperson for the International Sugar Organisation based in London and a former chairperson of the UN Environment Programme’s Sustainable Agri-Food Production.

Speirs has vast experience in agri-business strategy and business funding, having previously held the position of Head of Business Unit: Industrial Development Division and Chief Director at the Department of Trade and Industry. “I hope that my appointment will inspire youth and women to aspire towards careers in agriculture,” she says.

“Hortgro represents a very important part of South African exports and has world-class technical market access, protocols, and product standards. Horticultural stakeholders around the globe respect Hortgro and being part of its board is a privilege.”

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ALSO READ: Joyene Isaacs awarded Hortgro 1662 Industry Award

Joyene Isaacs, former head of department (HOD) of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, became the second person to receive the coveted Hortgro 1662 industry award. Horticulturist Koos Lötter was the first recipient of the award in 2019.

The 1662 Award was created to celebrate the first two Wittewijn Appels that were picked in the Company’s Garden on 17 April 1662 and to recognise the humble beginnings of the deciduous fruit industry on the southern tip of Africa. Although the award ceremony was planned for 17 April this year, it had to be postponed due to Covid-19.

Hortgro executive director, Anton Rabe, handed over the award at a small function outside Stellenbosch, and said that the 1662 award not only commemorates the humble beginnings of our industry, but it is now linked to honour and recognise the outstanding contributions of individuals or groups to our industry.

“We believe words such as: pioneering, innovative, professional, integrity, ethical, constructive, pro-active; evolutionary-change, fearless visionary, leadership, competence, excellence, solution driven, competitive, and world class, describe our industry. This is echoed in Hortgro’s culture, ethos and delivery of industry services and functions to our membership. And it is this type of individual or groups we wish to honour and recognise through this 1662 industry award.”

He further praised Joyene for her enormous contributions on a wide range of agricultural issues, over an extended period of time. “She has vastly contributed to the success and transformation of not only the deciduous fruit industry, but also the agri-sector in general. Her leadership and vision supported and improved our sector not only in the Western Cape, but nationally and beyond.

“Joyene played a significant role in the development of the ‘commodity approach’ – where industry and the department’s resources and expertise were pooled to create synergies and cooperation on many levels. A huge gearing and multiplier effect to the benefit of beneficiaries. In this regard her vision and implementation of the original ‘boompie-projek’ was a fundamental shift in agriculture that was later successfully followed up by Jobs Fund 1 and currently Hortfin.”

These support programmes have created a stable platform to gear additional investment. The impact, over the past ten years can be summarised with:

  • Total plantings: in excess of 2,200 ha + equipment/infrastructure
  • Total jobs: 3,564
  • Total projects benefitting: 180 entities
  • Total amount of income over lifespan of developments: R16.96 billion
  • Investment into the value chain, including production/packing costs: R11.9 billion
  • Net result including funds available for reinvestment: R5.06 billion