January 2022 Edition

Contents

• Message from SABI GM
• Membership
• Be Active!
• Council

• Technical News
• Cannabis & drip – SABI mag
• SABI Calendar – Branch meetings

SABI Congress 2022

15-17 March 2022
Sun Boardwalk , Gqeberha, Eastern Cape.

Theme: Taking irrigation to the next level.

Please book your place now, delegate tickets and exhibition space is at a premium at this long-awaited event.
Register today, please contact Riana on riana@sabi.co.za with any queries or to book.

Email riana@sabi.co.za, info@sabi.co.za or www.sabi.co.za

Message from SABI GM Riana Lombard

Cheers to many shared successes in the new year!
A new year: new hope, new opportunities await.

It with relief and happiness that many of us bade goodbye to the last couple of years, the years of covid were not easy for sure.  SABI is strongly focussed on making 2022 the year of renewal and success for every one of our members and the Institute. It is, as the old saying goes, always darkest before dawn, and it is our positive hope that 2022 is a brilliant new dawn for all.  We are looking forward to a bumper year!

As SABI, given that the last two years of pause in many respects of business, we decided it was the right thing to do to allow the Council to serve us for another two years. Due to our Constitution, however, we needed to elect a new President.

While Ian de Jager, President of 2020-2021 serves as Past-President, we welcome Michael Esmeraldo as our new President and Johan Grobler as Vice-President.  Congratulations Michael! Michael will be the youngest SABI President in the Institute’s history.

To read more about Michael Click Here.

Many thanks to Ian, who guided us safely and positively in two tumultuous years, thank you for your immense support, care and wisdom Ian, we are so grateful to you for guiding us through the storm!

We bid farewell to Felix Reinders our Secretary-Treasurer for many years too, and also a former President of SABI.  Felix is enjoying his retirement, and we bid him much joy and happy travels and well-earned leisure time with his wife Rika, his children and grand-children!

Thank you Felix the many hours you assisted with SABI, attended Council meetings, spoke at Congresses, wrote articles, mentored students, addressed Congresses gave a kind word of advice or support –Felix is a gentleman who fits the adage “if you want something done give it to the busiest person”.

Membership

It’s always good to check your membership status.

• If you feel you need to upgrade your membership status, please contact Riana.
• If you have moved or changed jobs, notify René at the SABI office/admin@sabi.co.za.
• Please do attend at least one branch meeting a year, keep in touch and participate in all that SABI offers you.

Important note
Please note that SABI Approved Designer Members need to earn points to retain status, you can do the following to keep your membership current:

• Attend branch meetings
• Attend Congress
• Complete SABI courses
• Write articles for SABI magazine

We will be allowing to earn points until the end of Congress, after which if you don’t have sufficient points you will lose your current Designer Status.

Membership fees statements are being sent out at present, please pay before June 2022. Paid-up members will receive a Certificate of Verification as proof of SABI membership.

Use your membership number as reference when making your payment.

Members – be active!

Hopefully we can emerge from our cocoons and be more active socially and in business, with curfew removed and more freedom. We are sure our members cannot wait to socialise at SABI branch meetings, Congress and golf days.

Please also note that SABI Approved Designer Members need to earn points to retain status, you can do the following to keep your status current:

• Attend branch meetings
• Attend Congress
• Complete SABI courses
• Write articles for SABI magazine

Council

Technical News

Due to popular demand, we are introducing two SABI Advanced Design courses in 2022.

Please have a look at our training brochure for 2022 online.

These Advanced courses will be presented on:
Drainage (24 and 25th of May in the Western Cape & 31 May-1 April in Gauteng) and
Automation/Fertigation (10 and 11 August in the Western Cape and 23 and 24 August in Gauteng)

Please see training information - click to view training brochure
These are brilliant topics, and sure to supercharge your career or business if you sign up for this training.

• Please also consider our new course: Use of SAPWAT for irrigation requirement determination. SAPWAT is a well-known WRC funded model used by irrigation designers for the determination of crop water requirement to ensure sufficient water during the growing season. The course will cover the basics to understand all the options to use the model effectively
• Furthermore, we will be introducing, for the first time ever, later in the year the SABI Technical Tour, this is sure to become a must-do experience for our members! Watch this space for more information and if you have any queries, please feel free as always to mail me at riana@sabi.co.za.
• Please visit www.sabi.co.za for the new SABI Agricultural Norms and the SABI Landscape Norms.

SABI magazine
“Boom shake the room” edition – Cannabis and Congress

Please contact us with your news (carol@sabi.co.za) and advertisements (riana@sabi.co.za).

Plan your year with SABI:

Branch Meetings - 2022

Mpumalanga

• 24 February 
•  26 May 
•  13 October

Oranje

• 24 March 
•  2 June 
•  29 October

Western Cape

• 24 February 
• 9 June 
• 22 September 
• 10 November (Golf day)

Other

• Congress 2021/22
  Congress - 15-17 March 2022.

SABI, www.sabi.co.za and 021 850 8220