Managing Director
ANTON VAN ZYL
Horticulturist with diverse knowledge of international fresh produce value-chains. He also has a sound understanding of the dairy- and meat industries as well as Agri-processing and -marketing.
At an early stage in his career, Anton identified as an Entrepreneur and Innovator who had the skill and ability to develop and grow the capacity of products throughout a diverse market sector. He has the spirit and passion to harness people’s imagination to instigate creativity and progression, whilst being commercially minded.
His strengths lie in the Identification, Mapping and Implementation of opportunities, matching the Product-on-offer with Information whilst meeting Client Expectations. His strategic Management of ‘Turn-key Constraints’ and ability to Build Capacity all the while Monitoring and Evaluating the process with consistency and integrity identifies him as Outcome Driven, but with a Balanced Approach.
Through his natural ability to bring out and facilitate the visionary aspects of people by introducing insightful questioning and innovative thinking he can work with individuals to perform at their best to achieve results, thereby structuring a vast array of ideas into one cohesive plan for the business.
Anton is a trusted catalyst, lateral thinker, and empathetic decision-maker who is gifted in assessing business situations, instilling confidence and providing practical action-oriented support and guidance.
These are the attributes that make Anton an accessible Mentor with immense People Skills having the ability to match expertise with enterprise requirements.
Professional Career (a brief overview)
Most recently, setting up ViabilityConsult as a business catalyst in Agri-business. Client base stretches into Africa, and focusses on Pre-project phase of a variety of investment opportunities.
Farmed with stone fruit, destined for export and local market and in the process initiated the Value Bags concept of stone fruit with a leading SA retail group which turned into a major platform for selling smaller fruit at a highly increased value to the producer. All the leading retailers in SA soon followed this trend.
Developed and owned a sawmill specializing in the harvesting, processing and marketing of alien Eucalyptus species in the Western Cape, adding value to Eucalyptus timber for industrial applications. One of his strengths was the understanding of his customers’ requirements and subsequent developing of a range of products, which replaced existing, more costly alternatives.
One of the 4-man ‘start-up’ team that started Dole South Africa, growing a producer-base from zero to being a mayor export player in fresh produce from SA in 2 years, interfacing South African Producers and the different European marketing offices.
Developed the Industry Handling Protocols for deciduous fruit in the early 90’s, which served as precursor for Global GAP and a variety of industry certifications.
Directly involved with Agri- related Development and Community Projects.
Operational Director
CLIVE TRENT
Clive’s natural ability to lead, his operational and strategic experience across the agricultural sector, and attention to detail, makes him an ideal Mentor, Project Manager and Facilitator that forms part of the backbone of our company.
He is zealous about working on the interface between research, policy, and practise to support sustainable land management.
Clive has a real interest in serving the community on many levels. While understanding the practical implications on community and agriculture, he enjoys the challenge of new experiences and embraces positive change.
Although he has proven his expertise across a broad range of agricultural industries, he has been extensively involved in the establishment of the Blueberry industry of South Africa.
Clive’s never-ending enthusiasm for innovation and development of new ideas, his passion for people, and his well-developed sense of logic make of him a true strategist and conceptual thinker in his own right.
Professional Career (a brief overview)
Most recently Clive teamed up with Anton van Zyl to establish ViribusConsult. The company consults in the Agri-business industry, with the focus on developing and implementing innovative business models, with the aim to create new opportunities in Agriculture through project development and post-investment support.
Recruited by a leading South African private wine estate. The estate produce and bottle their wines on the estate for both the local and export markets. He established a Stone and Citrus fruit production unit on the estate, whilst managing the production of more than a 1,000 tons of wine grapes. Involved in the first production of Asian pomegranates and newly released dark table figs, produced for the local and export markets.
Played a key role as part of the team that established the Blueberry Industry of South Africa. This team contributed in a major way by importing and testing a wide range of varieties to determine their suitability for cultivation in South Africa, specifically in terms of quality and production potential. He was directly involved in assessing and refining the most beneficial production system to produce berries, comparing various growing environments and -mediums.
Clive managed an export fruit farm in the Banhoek area in the early 1990’s, producing Pome and Stone fruit. He was, at the time, one of the first farmers to establish soft citrus in the Western Cape.
Fanus Ferreira
Kabanga Shakankale
Sonja Conradie
Gloudien de Jager
Clients & Projects
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EDEN FARMING
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VV4 AGRI
