The Sorghum Trust Background
After the termination of the Sorghum Board in 1997, all of the funds of the Sorghum Board were transferred to the Sorghum Trust. These funds became the discretionary funds of the Sorghum Trust, which are 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 are to represent each of the following affected parties:
- The Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development;
- Sorghum Traders;
- Commercial Sorghum Producers;
- Emerging Sorghum Producers; and
- Sorghum Processors.
From May 1998 to February 2018, the Sorghum Trust acted as an administrator of statutory levies on sorghum imposed by the then Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The statutory levies were administered and accounted for separately from the Trust’s discretionary funds.
When considering project proposals for funding, the Trustees take the advice of the Sorghum Forum and the Sorghum Research Evaluation Committee into account. The Sorghum Forum consists of all directly affected stakeholders in the South African Sorghum Industry. The Members of the Sorghum Research Evaluation Committee are appointed by the Forum on the basis of their technical and scientific knowledge and experience on sorghum.