Princess Anne praises SA’s agricultural industry in whistle-stop visit to Cape

Princess Anne of the British royal family, the sister of King Charles, remained poised as she rubbed shoulders with South African business leader Johann Rupert, local politicians and farming delegates in Cape Town. In a tailored jacket, a red war remembrance poppy pinned to her lapel, she beamed at the applause in a packed hall at Century City. 

Princess Anne visited Cape Town to address the Commonwealth Agriculture Conference on 3 November. She told the audience that while she did not have a personal email address, she considered technology a tool for finding solutions in agriculture.

The 76-year-old royal underscored the impact of technology with humour, saying: “Weather is the bit that nobody can guarantee. And I defy AI [Artificial Intelligence] to come up with an answer.”

Warm welcome

In his keynote address, Rupert acknowledged his family’s descent from “boat people” – European settlers – and warmly welcomed the Princess Royal to South Africa.

The summit’s theme, “Opportunities of change in a connected world,” saw the opening speakers emphasise combining accumulated agricultural knowledge with scientific innovation. Challenges discussed ranged from economic disparity to environmental disruption. A sober twinge pervaded as, just the day before, United States president Donald Trump had announced his intention to terminate South Africa’s eligibility for Agoa.

In her speech, Princess Anne complimented Cape Town as the host of the event, saying: “The Western Cape, of course, provides a really excellent illustration of how agriculture, research, education, technology, tourism and food production need to work alongside each other, and they do.”

She further complimented South Africa’s “extraordinary climate”, adding that “its impact on agricultural knowledge and production goes back a very long way.”

However, climate concerns were acknowledged. Earlier, Western Cape MEC for Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism Dr Ivan Meyer reiterated to delegates that his department was preparing the province for El Niño and associated drought risks.

In his speech, Rupert detailed pressures facing farmers, such as inclement weather, wars around the globe and taxes on the sector’s immovable assets, in contrast to intellectual property-driven companies.

Delegates chuckled as Rupert, owner of L’Ormarins Wine Estate in Franschhoek, among other ventures, quipped that his big quandary was how to make a profit off farming.

“I really honour the people in this room,” he said, “because I don’t know how to make money from farming. I’m still trying to figure out how to make money out of wine. It’s a way of life. It’s a beautiful way of life, not a business.”

‘Bad habits’

In his address, Rupert raised the issues of income disparity and ethics within artificial intelligence. He emphasised “empathy and curiosity”, saying these were the values he instilled in his children and which he espouses in his business empire – and which he wishes to see more of in humanity at large. “It’s not necessarily true that we are too many people [on earth], but we have developed some very bad habits,” he said.

Rupert, also with a red war remembrance poppy pinned to his lapel, referred to Professor Brian Cox, the renowned English physicist, to illustrate water scarcity. “Professor Brian Cox makes things simple enough for me to understand,” said Rupert.

“Brian explained to me that we don’t have enough water. He said, ‘think of the Earth as an apple and the skin as the water. That shows us how precious water is.’ ” [Cox has posited that every drop of water on Earth, including oceans and lakes, would form a film that is comparatively thinner than the skin of an apple].

Founded in 1957 by Princess Anne’s father, Prince Philip, the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth promotes farming across 21 countries, primarily through its biennial conference. Princess Anne succeeded Prince Philip as president of the society.

‘A critical industry’

At the conference in Cape Town, Princess Anne put forward that agriculture remained critical around the world, as people would continue to need nutrition.

“The human race only got this far because it has been fed by the people in agriculture, the producers of our food. That is still true, and it will continue to be true,” she said.

She said she hoped that conference delegates would inspire one another.

“Farmers across the Commonwealth are really facing many of the same underlying challenges. It underlines that there are many more similarities than dissimilarities amongst human populations and their ways of life. However, the solutions will be different. I hope you feel that it’s important to hear about how other people tackle similar issues, but in very different environments,” she said.

The British High Commission in South Africa noted that Princess Anne would be in Cape Town on 3 and 4 November 2026, during which time she was also expected to visit a stud farm to learn about new protocol enabling greater trade of horses between South Africa and Britain.

She was also set to address digital entrepreneurs who live in Cape Town townships. DM