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This is the official website of The Agri Handbook, biennial publication, South Africa’s primary reference book for the agri-food industry which provides points of reference for all sub-sectors which make up the agricultural value chain. Whether you are a new farmer looking at your options or an old hand wanting to diversify your operations but wondering where to start, you will find value here.

The Agri Handbook was pioneered by the RainbowSA publishing team in 2003 as the National Agricultural Directory and the Afrikaans Nasionale Landbougids. Originally only available in A4, full colour, printed format, the publication was made available as an interactive PDF on CD-ROM in 2009. A companion Blog was added to support the publication with articles and news in 2013. The work of porting the 672 page resource to web format began in 2015 and the website went live in July 2016, with updates and additional chapters being added on a weekly basis.

In December 2018 the website moved up a gear to become the WordPress Agribook.Digital.

How did this project begin?

Back in the early 2000s the team ran a skills publication and skills call centre. We received several calls to do with agriculture, something not covered in our book as it was more corporate and government focused. So we set off to research agricultural training in the country. The one chapter became four chapters, became ten and then mushroomed to around the current 180.

The team travelled widely, meeting agri-food industry role players to introduce what we aimed to achieve. We met with over 400 of them – farmer unions, businesses, universities, industry associations, government, research and training bodies – and in 2004 the first edition saw the light of day.

Craig Macaskill has been the editor of the Agribook since its inception in 2004 as the National Agricultural Directory. He grew up on a mixed farming operation near Ficksburg in the Free State and following a career of teaching he shifted gears, putting his editing skills to use by compiling and summarising the inaugural edition of the National Agricultural Directory.

 

How to reference the Agribook

Macaskill, C. (ed). 2024. The Agri Handbook for South Africa. Johannesburg: SimplyPhi Information Artisans.

What people have said over the years: