About Sorghum
After the termination of the Sorghum Board in 1997, all funds of the Sorghum Board were transferred to the Sorghum Trust. Such funds became the discretionary funds of the Sorghum Trust, governed by the Trustees in terms of the Trust Deed. The main objective of the Sorghum Trust is to maximise the income of the Trust and to provide funding for the benefit of the Sorghum Industry – in particular for sorghum research & development projects and the maintenance of information required by the Sorghum Industry.
The Trust Deed provides for five trustees, who must each represent of the following affected parties: The Minister of Agriculture, Sorghum traders, Commercial sorghum producers, Emerging sorghum producers and Sorghum processors.
Since 8 May 1998, the Sorghum Trust also acts as Administrator of statutory levies: appointed as such by the Minister of Agriculture. The statutory levies are administered and accounted for separate from the Trust’s discretionary funds.
When considering project proposals for funding, the Trustees take the advice of the Sorghum Forum into account. In respect of projects funded from statutory funds, the Trustees are accountable to the Minister of Agriculture and the Auditor-General, in terms of respectively the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAP Act) and the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).