Gjizelle Nel | Agronomist | AGT Foods Africa
Gjizelle Nel is an agronomist at AGT Foods Africa, one of Southern Africa’s leading processors and suppliers of pulses, staple foods, turf and field seeds, confectionery seed and popcorn for domestic and international markets. AGT Foods Africa forms part of AGT Food and Ingredients Inc., a global food and ingredients group headquartered in Canada. Its extensive seed portfolio includes sorghum, forage sorghum, cowpeas, dry beans, oats, rye and lupins, while the company also operates a world-class popcorn processing facility in South Africa.
Nel describes the company as an agricultural production and processing business rather than purely an AgriTech one, though research, technology and innovation are central to its work. Her own path began with a passion for caring for the environment while supporting food security. She credits AGT Foods Africa Managing Director Brian Lever with sharing that vision, supporting her professional development and encouraging her contribution to the agricultural industry. The early years were not easy. Agriculture has long been male-dominated, and she was unsure where she fitted in. She also had to bridge the gap between university knowledge and the practical demands of the industry, a step she says takes experience, mentorship and a steady willingness to keep learning.
People must be able to share ideas without fear of ridicule.
Her work is closely linked to research and field testing. AGT Foods Africa conducts trials to assess cultivars and seed treatments before commercial release. Its AgriCOTE seed-treatment technology supports crop establishment through added nutrition, improved seed-to-soil contact and protection against insects, fungi and damping-off. The team also works closely with producers to understand practical production challenges and develop solutions suited to local conditions.
She sees unpredictable weather as one of the sector’s biggest challenges, along with pressure on soil health, production costs and access to suitable seed. Weather cannot be controlled, but producers can be guided toward crops and varieties that cope with dry conditions, and sorghum and cowpeas are strong examples. The company also offers crop-rotation guidance to protect soil health. Because access to improved varieties is still uneven in parts of Africa, it is working to widen that access in selected markets, in line with each country’s registration and regulatory rules.
Nel’s contribution reaches beyond her company. She serves on the Forage and Turf Executive Committee of SANSOR, is Vice Chair of the Phytosanitary Expert Technical Group and chairs the Sorghum Cluster Initiative in South Africa. She does not see these roles as personal achievements alone. She values the chance to work with knowledgeable people committed to solving industry challenges.
She believes innovation and sustainability must be practical and commercially viable for both the producer and the company. AGT Foods Africa keeps testing cultivars, seed treatments, production practices and processing methods so that crops can be grown and processed more efficiently without losing quality. Producers and processors depend on one another, and neither can build a sustainable future alone. For Nel, sustainability is not a slogan. It means responsible decisions that support viable production, reliable supply and lasting relationships.
Over the next five years, she expects AgriTech to be most useful where it helps farmers make better and faster decisions, through reliable weather information, field data, suitable cultivars and precision applications. The biggest impact, she believes, will come from tools that are affordable, accessible and adapted to local conditions rather than technology introduced for its own sake. Combined with agronomic knowledge, training and dependable market access, such innovation can strengthen food security and open more resilient opportunities in rural communities.
Innovation does not always need to be complicated; its value lies in whether people can use it.
As a leader, Nel values trust, transparency, open communication, honesty and fairness. She believes people should have the freedom to think, contribute and make decisions, because that is how they learn and grow, and she does not favour micromanagement. She also holds that people must be able to share ideas without fear of ridicule, since some of the best solutions come from individuals who feel confident enough to offer a different view.
To young entrepreneurs, she offers plain advice. Understand the problem before building the technology, look for genuine gaps and start with practical ideas that meet an immediate need. Innovation does not have to be complicated; its value lies in whether people can use it. Listen to farmers, test assumptions in real conditions and stay willing to adapt, because Africa is diverse and solutions must reflect the people and environments they serve.
Looking ahead, Nel wants AGT Foods Africa to keep supplying high-quality seed and grain while expanding responsible access to suitable varieties across African markets, within each country’s rules. This includes reaching commercial, smallholder and subsistence farmers. On a personal level, she plans to keep learning, contribute meaningfully to the industry and help build practical agricultural solutions that fit African conditions.
Sustainability is not a slogan; it means responsible decisions that support viable production, reliable supply and lasting relationships.