Membership

To be accepted by each potential member on application for membership. As nurserymen and members of the SGASA we have responsibilities to the industry and to the association. They are as follows:

1. To maintain the nursery in neat, tidy and hygienic state; a spotless appearance is important to customer perception of industry professionalism.
2. To avoid growing crops near the nursery which may carry the same diseases as nursery plants. To eliminate weeds in and around the nursery as these are also reservoirs of insects and diseases.
3. To avoid selling diseased or aged seedlings as they will die and give the system a bad reputation.
4. To avoid discounts and price cutting, which may be very destructive business practices to the detriment of all. It is vital that correct accounting practices are used in the calculation of prices, to include all real overheads and other costs. Costs of labour, management, land etc. cannot be written off against other farming budgets. Honesty in this area is vital to the economic health of the association.
5. To maintain a high level of efficiency of management: order controls, seed sowing, nursery management, dispatch, invoicing must be conducted with professional excellence.
6. To avoid the use of suspect seed or chemicals, or those packages with inadequate labels.
7. To offer customers after-service advice on issues such as cultivar choices, disease control, post-delivery seedling care, planting practices, etc.
8. The grower and supply members of the SGASA should support each other wherever possible: a long-term symbiosis is better value than short-term profit, for both parties.
9. To conduct ecologically sound agrochemical and fertilizer practices.
10. To conduct sound labour relations, including provision for training, transport, housing and safety needs.
11. To be an active participant in the affairs of the SGASA.