About

In a Nutshell

SAMAC is a non-profit Company under the Companies Act, 2008 (Act 71 of 2008). Our main objective is to serve the interest of members in order to ensure the sustainability, growth and prosperity of the South African Macadamia Industry.

Who we are

Welcome to SAMAC, where we lead world-class research initiatives aimed at driving continuous improvement in production yields, processing, and quality within the agricultural sector. Our commitment extends beyond mere productivity; we strive to foster a demand-driven market by highlighting the health benefits of macadamias, thus increasing consumer consumption. With a keen eye on market dynamics, we continuously gauge industry evolution and adapt swiftly to changes, ensuring sustained growth and competitiveness. Moreover, we prioritize establishing and enhancing collaborative government relations to facilitate favorable market access, leverage transformation advantages, and uphold long-term goodwill within legislative circles.

Our dedication to delivering value for growers is unwavering; we interpret and disseminate research findings to empower growers, connect them with technical resources, and represent South Africa on the global stage. Through a robust communications strategy, we aim to transparently communicate our achievements both internally and externally, showcasing the tangible benefits SAMAC brings to the industry. Committed to professionalism and efficiency, we maintain a lean organization, outsourcing to best-in-class service providers and focusing on execution excellence to deliver value and quality consistently.

Join us in shaping the future of sustainable agriculture and industry advancement.

Purpose statement

To provide inspirational and innovative leadership to an all-inclusive and aligned South African Macadamia Industry, built on broad-based research, market development and stakeholder engagements through the power of the collective.

GOALS

  • continuous improvement in production yields, processing and quality
  • growing the demand ahead of supply through inter alia the health benefits for consumers as reasons to increase consumption
  • continuously gauge market evolution to be agile to industry changes and identify drivers of future change
  • facilitate favourable market access
  • leverage transformation advantages to SAMAC and beneficiaries
  • ensure long-term goodwill for the industry among legislators
  • manage local and export minimum quality standards
  • minimise product theft
  • respond positively from a single voice to new legislation and have a unified/standardised implementation and response to change
  • interpret and make research results available and useful to growers (publish best practices and productivity benchmarking)
  • continually improve the technology by connecting growers to appropriate sources for technical advice
  • represent South Africa on the global Macadamia stage
  • internally to the industry
  • externally
  • communicate the results and benefits of SAMACโ€™s achievements on behalf of the industry
  • deliver value and quality
  • outsource to the best-in-class service providers
  • focus on execution excellence for the core fundamentals

“The farmer has to be an optimist,
or he wouldn’t still be a farmer”
– Will Rogers

SAMAC Board of Directors

SAMAC is committed to upholding the highest standards of corporate governance to drive sustainable value for all its members. The Board of SAMAC maintains effective and ethical leadership, recognising that good governance is crucial for long-term success and the achievement of strategic objectives. Our focus lies in embedding robust governance processes and frameworks that ensure responsible leadership, characterised by integrity, fairness, transparency, and accountability.
 
The SAMAC Board consists of:

  • 7 Grower Directors; and
  • 2 External Directors.

The respective Directors serve on different portfolio(s) within SAMAC.

Mr Pierre Cronje

Chairperson

Mr Myles Osborn

Vice-Chairperson

Mr Quentin Elliott

Portfolio: R&D and Committee Chairperson (Production sub-committee)

Mr Craig Lewis

Portfolio: R&D (Risk Mitigation
sub-committee)

Mr Gene Likhanya

Portfolios: Transformation Committee Chairperson

Chris Dando

Portfolios: Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Chairperson and RemCo

Mr Louis Vorster

Dr Mono Mashaba

Portfolios: Finance, Audit & Risk, Market Access and Development (External Director)

Mrs Lebogang Mbana

Portfolios: Transformation Committee, RemCo Chairperson and Stakeholder Engagements Committee (External Director)

“Great leaders don’t set out to be leaders, they set out to make a difference. It’s never about the role, but always about the goal”

Research and Development Committees

The sustainability and growth of macadamia production depends largely on the success of its research and development programmes. Research and development projects and priorities within the macadamia industry in South Africa are the responsibility of the SAMAC Board, the CEO, and the R&D Manager. The CEO, R&D Manager and R&D Extension Manager are responsible for prioritizing, commissioning, monitoring, completing (where applicable) and implementing research and development initiatives.

Mr Quentin Elliott

Chairperson

Mr Craig Lewis

Transformation

The Transformation Committee’s mandate is to guarantee that 20% of the statutory levy received is allocated towards transformation initiatives, adhering to the guidelines set forth by the National Agriculture Marketing Council (NAMC). Their responsibility extends to ensuring the precise distribution of this levy, allocating it as follows: 60% towards enterprise development, 18% towards skills development, 17% towards management control, and 5% towards socio-economic development, all in accordance with the detailed directives outlined by the NAMC.

The Transformation Committee consists of the following members: 

Mr Gene Likhanya

Chairperson

Mrs Lebogang Mbana

Market Access and Development

The Market Access and Development Committee plays a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of the South African macadamia industry. Tasked with devising robust strategies for both market access and development, the Committee aims to propel the industry forward by identifying market growth opportunities, fostering local and international relationships, lobby for tariff reductions and staying agile in the face of evolving market dynamics.

The Market Access and Development Committee consists of the following members:

Mr Myles Osborn

Chairperson

Dr Mono Mashaba

Mr Pieter van der Westhuizen

Mr Alex Whyte

Mr Louis Vorster

Mr Zac Bard

Finance, Audit & Risk

The Finance, Audit & Risk Committee plays a critical role in promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity within SAMAC by overseeing financial reporting, risk management, and compliance activities. Its structure is designed to ensure independence, expertise, and effective oversight of these key areas.

The Finance, Audit & Risk Committee consists of the following members:

Chris Dando

Chairperson

Dr Mono Mashaba

Stakeholders Engagement

The Stakeholders Engagement Committee is charged with crafting a comprehensive strategy for engaging both primary and secondary stakeholders. Their primary aim is to nurture strong relationships with commercial farmers, small-scale farmers, handlers, and secondary stakeholders, which include governmental bodies and other entities.

The Stakeholders Engagement Committee consists of the following members:

Mr Pierre Cronje

Chairperson

Mrs Lebogang Mbana

REMCO

The role of the Committee is to assist the Board to ensure that:

  • the Directors, Executives and personnel are remunerated fairly and responsibly with the long-term interests of SAMAC NPC in mind; and
  • that an effective remuneration policy is in place, aligned with SAMAC NPCโ€™s strategy, and is applied consistently throughout the entity at all employee levels.

The Committee consists of the following members:

Chris Dando

Mrs Lebogang Mbana

Chairperson