PANNAR FEATURE

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P A N N A R S E E D ( P T Y ) L T D

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successS e e d S o f

G reytown-based Pannar Seed was founded in 1958. It is a South African seed business, with commercial operations

throughout Africa and the rest of the world. Over the decades, Pannar has exceeded

the boundaries of performance. It has its own seed businesses in nine African countries - South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya – and operates in many other African countries through a broad network of agents and distributors. Pannar has fully fledged commercial seed operations

in the US and Argentina too, and licenses its maize and sunflower genetics to companies in Europe and further afield. It has extensive research activities - in Africa, Europe, the US and Argentina - aimed at breeding high-yielding hybrids and varieties.

“It is Pannar’s goal to produce new cultivars that will perform even better, for markets that span the globe,” the company’s website,

www.pannar.com, says. “If you ask about the difference between

Pannar and any other seed supplier in South Africa, we can give you many different answers,” it continues. “We can talk about our market leader status…. We can tell you that cutting-edge technology and research give us the edge against our competitors…. We can mention our investment in people who work hard to establish our reputation through excellent service. But the greatest difference between Pannar and any other seed producer is a benefit we call ‘Living the Pannar Experience’. Part of the experience is peace of mind,

Pannar Seed, a dynamic agribusiness group, was founded

in South Africa over 50 years ago. It has remained a family-owned

South African group with seed as its core business.

By Ian Armitage

Pannar Seed (Pty) Ltd feATURe

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It is our objective to offer our customers a complete range of products to meet all their

requirements

knowing that all our seed is performance tested and has undergone strict quality controls. The experience is also about adding value to our partnership by providing expert advice and assistance, technological innovations, quality products and unbeatable service. It’s also about adding meaning to our relationship through mutual trust, respect and friendship.”

Pannar’s origins are deeply rooted in agriculture. It has come a long way since the early days when it only marketed maize seed. Today Pannar markets a range of seeds including sunflower, soybeans, grain sorghum, forage sorghum, dry beans, wheat and a comprehensive range of pasture seeds.

Through sister company Starke Ayres it also supplies vegetable and flower seeds.

“It is our objective to offer our customers a complete range of products to meet all their requirements,” the company says.

“We operate with honesty, integrity, transparency and professionalism,” it adds. “We encourage creativity, initiative and enthusiasm. We are proud of our independence.”

Quality seed production is one of the keys to Pannar’s success.

Seed is produced by selected growers and all production activities are closely supervised by Pannar’s production team.

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Pannar Seed (Pty) Ltd feATURe

The company has a proud tradition of fine products and rapid and continuous growth. It is the largest seed group in Africa and a respected role-player in the international market.

PIONEER BIDPannar hit the headlines recently following a bid by US-based Pioneer Hi-Bred, one of the world’s leading agricultural businesses, to acquire the firm.

In December, the Competition Commission blocked the deal, explaining: “The commission found that the merger would substantially prevent or lessen competition in the maize seed market in SA.”

In Feburary the pair announced their intentions to participate in a Competition

Tribunal public hearing in support of their request for approval of Pannar to sell a majority share of its business to Pioneer.

“The public hearing is part of a process that is expected to conclude with a final hearing in September,” a joint company statement reads. “The two businesses have already submitted written representations as to why the transaction should be approved.”

Pannar and Pioneer have requested the Competition Tribunal to review the December 2010 decision of the Competition Commission to prohibit the transaction. In their filing with the Tribunal, the seed businesses say that there are convincing grounds for the Competition Tribunal to approve the partnership.

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Pannar Seed (Pty) Ltd feATURe

GeoTAB (Pty) Ltd was established in 1998 with their Head office based in Midrand, Johannesburg. Corporate offices are located in Johannesburg, Cape Town and durban, with accredited fitment and support centres throughout South Africa. Geotab exports to some 20 countries in Africa. When including North America, Australia and various countries in the Middle east and europe, the international footprint extends to more than 65 countries.

This world-wide footprint enables Geotab to provide localised support to meet specific requirements while also ensuring that their systems and offerings remain at the forefront of available technology. In 2010 Geotab Inc was recognised as being one of the Top 50 Technology Companies in Canada being ranked 41st in the deloitte Technology fast 50™ ranking.

“We are extremely pleased and honoured to be ranked among the top growing companies in Canada. We pride ourselves on technical excellence, delivering what customers want and bringing innovation to business management” said Neil Cawse, Geotab North America’s Ceo.

early in 2010 Geotab was selected to provide fleet management to the world-wide fleet for Pannar Seeds, due not only to the superiority of the product but also because the world-wide distribution of the Geotab system, especially into Africa which closely matches that of Pannar Seeds. This ensures the availability of a single platform, operating system and support network across the entire fleet. Geotab has always enjoyed a reputation for producing reliable and dependable systems with long operating life, essential given the areas and environments in which the Pannar Seeds fleet operates.

The brief to Geotab included the need for a single database with access to relevant Regional branches or the option to utilise a stand-alone database for countries where internet access is limited or intermittent. The ability to interface with multiple mapping sources, including Pannar’s own

GeOtaB (Pty) Ltd

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GIS mapping database and to import details of existing client information was identified by Pannar as being critical. Geotab’s ability to provide both standard system reports as well as the ability to customise reports to Pannar’s specific requirements was a further advantage.

Geotab personnel worked closely with Pannar Seeds to plan and implement the system, paying particular attention to ensure that the database setup and consequent vehicle allocation and user hierarchy matched Pannar’s requirements. The main database is hosted at Pannar’s Greytown Head office, and provides access to users so that managers and staff have access to information on vehicles either simply within their own area, or provincially, nationally or regionally depending on their security and responsibility level. Standalone sites are located in Zimbabwe and Zambia due to intermittent internet access in those countries, although a range of standard reports and procedures is in place across the entire fleet.

Geotab’s uniquely simple ability to customise rules and groups allows users to source and review pertinent information across the entire fleet; or across particular segments (by country, region, or department); or for example even by type of vehicle (cars as opposed to light trucks, heavy trucks or tractors) or even by individual vehicle. of particular import is the ability to be able easily to change or create rules as required and then not only apply these to current or future information, but also to easily reprocess historic data and thus redefine information as required.

As all Geotab reports are generated in Microsoft excel, users have the ability to generate reports and then apply calculations or settings to them, and to email or print as they require. Qualified Pannar IT personnel also have the ability to customise existing reports or even to build custom reports from scratch using Geotab’s free Software development Kit (SdK).

The Pannar Seeds management was unwavering in their approach of the system being used as a management tool; to provide critical information regarding the use and allocation of assets and staff, and to enable this to be correlated with projects and sales efforts across the region.

The transaction has already been approved by competition authorities several other African countries - Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia and Swaziland.

“Pannar needs a partner and chose Pioneer,” Brian Corbishley, chairman – Pannar, said. “Through this partnership, our operations in South Africa and our contribution in Africa will be strengthened, our business will be more competitive, and we will be able to deliver better products, faster.”

Pioneer intends, if the transaction is approved, to expand the two businesses’ existing South African research capabilities - stimulating a transfer of skills and technology to South Africa, with benefits to farmers and consumers throughout Africa.

The partnership will allow Pannar access to Pioneer’s complementary plant genetics and advanced breeding technologies; Pannar’s ability to compete

and bring new products to the market quicker would be greatly enhanced.

Both Pannar Seed and Pioneer Hi-bred are world leaders in hybrid and GM seed technology that includes several white and yellow maize varieties. GM maize makes up about 70 percent of South Africa’s commercial maize crop.

Pannar and Pioneer say the transaction could also help improve food production in South Africa and throughout Africa.

“The increases in farmer productivity through higher crop yields and better use of technology are a critical component

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We operate with honesty, integrity, transparency and

professionalism

in addressing the need to feed rapidly increasing populations, in Africa and globally,” the joint statement says. “According to the United Nations, food production will need to nearly double by 2050 to feed a growing global population. Africa’s population will soon pass 1 billion and could reach up to two billion by 2050, at which time it will represent more than 20 percent of the world’s population.”

Biotechnology would increase food security by ensuring higher yields and better use of available resources, it seems.

Those opposed to the deal claim it would result in a seed cartel that could affect local agriculture negatively.

Pioneer Hi-Bred is a subsidiary of Iowa-based DuPont, the world’s leading developer and supplier of high-tech plant genetics. eNd

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FUNGICIDES• Anchor Red• Vitavax Neutral• Ingwe 6FS• Badger 15FS• Royalcap FS

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INSECTICIDES• RoyalGuard 50EC• Askari 70WS• Solect 600FS

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MICRO - NUTRIËNTS• RoyalKare Moly FS

• RoyalTag

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SEED SECURITY

COLOURS (PIGMENT/POLYMER COMBINATIONS)• RoyalKote Range• RoyalKare Range• RoyalKare Pearl Range

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P.O. Box 2089, Kempton Park, 1620Tel: 011 – 397 4336 (Head office) 028 – 271 4687 (Cape)

Chemtura (Pty) Ltd.www.chemtura.com

Anchor Red Reg. Nr: L 7301 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active ingredients: Carboxin 200g/L. Thiram 200g/L.Vitavax Neutral Reg. Nr: L 3695 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active ingredients: Carboxin 200g/L. Thiram 200g/L. Caution.Ingwe 6FS Reg. Nr: L 7567 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredient: Tebuconazole 60g/L. Caution.Badger 15FS Reg. Nr: L 7565 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredient: Triadimenol 150g/L. Harmful.Royalcap FS Reg. Nr.: L 3152 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredient: Captab 500g/L. Caution.RoyalGuard 50EC Reg. Nr: L 7766 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredients: Permethrin: 100g/L. PAskari Reg. Nr: L 8541 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredient: Imidacloprid 700g/kg. Caution.Solect Reg. Nr: L 8572 Act nr. 36 of 1947. Active Ingredient: Imidacloprid 600g/L. Harmful.Anchor , Vitavax , Ingwe , Badger , Royalcap en RoyalGuard are registered trademarks of Chemtura Corporation, USA.Askari is the registered trademark of DVA Agro, Germany.Solect is a trademark of Universal Crop Protection (Pty) Ltd, South Africa.RoyalKote , RoyalKare en RoyalTag are trademarks of Chemtura Corporation, USA.

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Caution.

irimiphos methyl 400g/L. Harmful.

YOUR PARTNER IN SEED TREATMENT

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Pannar Seed (Pty) Ltd feATURe

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