‘Combined effort necessary for transformation’

Despite the many resources directed by various role players towards transformation in South Africa’s red meat industry, no real development has taken place in the industry since 1994. This was according to the group managing director of the National Emergent Red Meat Producers’ Organisation (NERPO), Aggrey Mahanjana, who was speaking at the recent annual general meeting of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa (AFASA) in Kempton Park.

Mahanjana said research conducted by NERPO during September this year confirmed that there was a lack of transformation in the sector.

“The statistics reveal that there are approximately 2 700 stud breeders in South Africa, with only 15 black stud breeders, and these breeders are struggling to sell their cattle due to a lack of support from other black breeders and government, who do not have trust in their produce. The commercial livestock industry consists of 17 822 farmers, including 6 001 black farmers, while the livestock auctioneering sector consists of 75 auctioneers and only two are black. They are also struggling to get business and are likely to get business once a year,” said Mahanjana.

Out of 100 feedlots, there were only three black operators in the industry, while there were 397 registered abattoirs that included only six black participants, he added. According to the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters of South Africa, the organisation currently had no black import or export members.

Mahanjana said transformation was not taking place due to the absence of a common vision, strategy and coordinated development efforts in the sector. For example, even within government, each department had its own strategy, while there was also the issue of limited resources, such as funding.

He added that systematic monitoring and evaluation of resource distribution was needed, as well as transparency in these processes to prevent corruption. It had become the norm that when one sought government assistance, bribery needed to be involved. To transform the sector, it was necessary for stakeholders to work together and improve supply through the development of production, while demand had to be raised by investing in marketing strategies. “AFASA must focus on [establishing a] policy environment that will ensure [that] black farmers can participate adequately.”

Responding to Mahanjana, Koos van der Ryst, chairperson of the Red Meat Producers Organisation (RPO), said there was a huge opportunity to increase small-scale farmers’ production levels by developing their skills, so they could produce more with better animals. The RPO was currently negotiating a statutory levy that would provide funding in this regard. “We need to consider partnerships between the private and public sectors; there is a lot of goodwill from institutions, but there needs to be coordination so that all funds available can be used optimally.” – Siyanda Sishuba