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2009
Future looks rosy
“I believe that the pork industry and agriculture in general are in for a good couple of years,” said Barry Gibbs, chairman of the KZN Pork Producers at the annual general meeting of the organisation in Pietermaritzburg in August.
Highlights included the organisation’s promotion campaign. “We concentrated our efforts on in-store and show promotions. In-store promotions are still the heart of our promotion efforts as the personal contact with consumers is invaluable. A new campaign with soccer as its theme was very successful while our promotion ladies shined at the Good Food and Wine Show.”
Gibbs also urged producers to support Kwanalu as much as possible. “A special thank you to Robin Barnsley, president of Kwanalu and all its staff for keeping us informed on all agricultural issues in KZN, and for your efforts to help fight important issues,” Gibbs said.
Current food crisis yields a lot of opportunities
“The current food crisis must be the biggest commercial opportunity for farmers ever. If they can not make the best of these opportunity now, they will never be able to do so,” said Roy Cackett, managing director of Agri-Care, at the annual general meeting.
Cackett who took a new look at farmers’ role in food production, said that the world’s food supply and demand curves are seriously out of kilter. Rising oil prices, the escalating demand for grain, population growth, climate change and government policies are the major reasons for the situation.
“We are in the right sector and our lives, our savings and our resources are invested in the right place. Be wide awake to capitalise on new short-term opportunities. There is a new future in our hands. Our role in food production is clearer than ever before. It is time that we begin thinking about ourselves as food producers and not farmers,” he said.
Biosecurity: Room for
improvement in KZN
Although most producers in KZ-Natal buy pigs from a single, better health
status farm, only about 61% have adequate fencing to prevent access by
domestic and feral animals as well as people, Dr Peter Evans, SAPPO’s health
officer, told the annual general meeting.
More than half of the farms that participated in SAPPO’s survey do not insist on a change of clothing or have adequate changing facilities. Most farms however tattoo their pigs and are regularly visited by a veterinarian. Not one of the farms participating in the survey feed swill, Dr Evans said. “Be well informed, have protocols in place and be pro-active. Physical boundaries are the most important biosecurity measure. The lack thereof was probably the cause of the spread of PRRS and CSF in the country,” Dr Evans said.
Good year for promotions
Free advertisements in the Daily News and the Natal Witness advertising the latest research on pork’s nutritional values, the booklet, The complete guide to South African pork and new recipes contributed to a successful promotions campaign in January and February this year, said Sally Wilson, promotion lady for Pietermaritzburg. “Money is usually tight during these months and pork prices are still high. It was therefore great to start 2009 with these booklets and recipes and the response from the public was excellent.
“We find that people who suffers from health problems such as heart conditions, cholesterol, diabetes and TB or consumers who are keen to live a healthy lifestyle are very interested in this updated information. Some even asked for a booklet to give to their doctor, dietician or personal trainer,” she said.
Heather Cullinan, promotion lady for Durban said that apart from the 32 in-store promotions every month, participation at the Good Food and Wine Show in Durban was a highlight on the past year’s promotion calendar.
“The stall was manned by at least two ladies at a time. We cooked neck steaks, rashers and sausages from 10:00 to 21:00 daily. This amounted to 88kg of fresh pork that was consumed. The meat was sponsored by various meat outlets.”
According to Cullinan the show gave pork a lot of exposure to thousands of people who tasted pork and received recipes and booklets on the nutritional value of pork.
“It is great to see the many people from cultures, which do not traditionally eat pork, are now buying our product.”
New application for statutory levy
The statutory levy for the pork industry will lapse by 31 October 2010 and SAPPO plans to apply for the continuation of the levy for the next four years.
The matter will put to producers at SAPPO’s annual general meeting in September, said Simon Streicher, CEO of SAPPO at the meeting.
The proposed levy will be R7 per slaughter pig and SAPPO will annually collect R15 400 000 for the period November 2010 to October 2014.
Emerging Producers: R3 080
000
Promotions: R8 310 000
Health R1 250 000
Research R 660 000
Admin R1 540 000
Liaison and information R560 000
Shortage of water in KZ-Natal
“We have a shortage of water in KwaZulu-Natal and we have a responsibility
to protect this scares resource,” said Pat Reddy of the Department of Water
Affairs and Forestry, at the annual general meeting.
Reddy discussed the various
forms pork producers had to complete to register at the Department before
the end of August and said the registration project is aimed at promoting
good water usage practices among producers.
“The Department wants to asses the impact of waste products on resources.
The aim is not to start a witch-hunt among producers but to protect the
water resources in the province for coming generations,” he said.