Investment holdings company Afgri Group Holdings (AGH) CEO Chris Venter on Tuesday announced the appointment of Jacob de Villiers as the new CEO of Afgri Agri Services, following the retirement of the division’s former CEO, Tinus Prinsloo, at the end of July.

De Villiers, most recently acted in a dual capacity as MD of Afgri Grain Management and CFO of Afgri Agri Services.

De Villiers has set his focus on strategy implementation and delivering “exemplary” customer service and did not plan to introduce major changes in the business over the next 12 to 18 months.

He further added that, given a number of external forces affecting the agricultural sector, including drought, political intervention and foreign exchange fluctuations, besides others, it was critical to remain heedful of the things that were within the company’s control to ensure that Afgri Agri Services continued to flourish.

“We are a responsible corporate citizen, contributing wholeheartedly to building South Africa’s economy, employing more people – all this to ensure our business thrives.”

With the newly-created Afgri Silo Company now in place, De Villiers said that leveraging this platform would also be a focus area in the next 12 to 18 months, with the intention being to have more grain storage participants come on board, with the goal of increasing storage capacity from 4.7-million tonnes to six-million tonnes, as well as branching out into the storage of other agricultural commodities beyond grain.

On the financial services side, De Villiers believes that securing long-term funding is critical to ensuring that the farmer book continues to strengthen, all the while ensuring the relationship of origination for the Land Bank remains steadfast.

The next 12 to 18 months will also be a period of consolidation for the Afgri Equipment division, which has gone through several mergers and acquisitions over the past three to four years.