Industry body Grain SA has appointed Sibusiso Mabuza CEO of its farmer development arm Phahama Grain Phakama (PGP).

Grain SA CEO Dr Tobias Doyer says Mabuza brings to the position 20 years of leadership experience across agriculture, finance and infrastructure development and will lead PGP in its most dynamic chapter of scaling transformation yet.

“Mabuza is a results-driven leader with the proven ability to raise capital, build partnerships and deliver scalable development programmes,” Doyer adds.

His professional work history includes senior roles at Super Grand Agric, Numolux Group and the National Empowerment Fund, where he secured project funding, led the construction of agriculture infrastructure, raised capital for vaccine trials and designed finance strategies for feed mills, abattoirs and grain production.

Commenting on his new role, Mabuza says PGP is not just developing farmers but building a future of dignified participation, economic growth and inclusive prosperity.

“PGP has a solid foundation but we are ready to grow our footprint, sharpen our strategy and deepen our partnerships. My vision is to turn potential into prosperity and participation into power.”

PGP is the largest structured farmer development programme in the local grain sector. It supports more than 18 000 producer beneficiaries, including subsistence and commercial farmers.

PGP offers holistic support for farmers including mentorship, market access, financing assistance and technical training. In 2023/24, PGP supported the planting of 23 611 ha of land and the harvesting of more than 37 000 t of grain.

During 2025/26, PGP aims to support the production of more than 79 000 t of grain.

For Mabuza, smallholder and developing farmers are central to solving South Africa’s rural economic challenges and adding to food security.

“With proper integration into value chains, these farmers can drive job creation, boost food self-sufficiency and ignite growth in neglected rural areas. We must give them access to funding, modern tools and markets so they can move from surviving to thriving,” Mabuza states.

As the head of PGP, he plans to introduce more innovations to enhance efficiency and scalability of the organisation’s work, including by expanding blended financing instruments with partners and strengthening government alignment to ensure practical, farmer-centric policies are formed.