Programme Director
Leadership of the Red Meat Abattoir Association
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Programme Director, your event follows hot on the heels of the Budget Vote of my department and I have to closely relate my contribution to your event to relevant areas from the Budget Vote.
You will recall I have indicated that agriculture is a catalyst for economic growth and the current contribution of our sector towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.5 % is far below the capacity of the sector. It should be noted however, that the sector contributes another 12 % to the GDP through value added from related manufacturing and processing.
The secondary contribution of agriculture finds expression in sectors similar to yours and the Red Meat Abattoir Association is regarded as a vital stakeholder towards increasing the contribution of agriculture to the GDP.
Livestock production is the life blood of many people in this country – from livestock producers, owners and keepers and to all of those employed by the various sectors. One of the most important of these is the red meat sector – particularly as over 80% of the land available for agriculture can only be used for some form of animal production. Almost all the red meat produced in the country starts life on natural rangeland in a wide variety of vegetation and climatic biomes.
What makes the red meat industry even more unique is the fact that it manages to produce quality red meat under conditions that are often seen as unsuitable for agriculture – taking the problems of seasonal dry periods, periodic droughts and other environmental challenges.
A key component of the support base for the livestock industry is Government – with legislation to control livestock diseases, humane and effective slaughter of animals, meat hygiene, trade in animals and animal products and the breeding and improvement of our farm animal genetic resources.
This is further supported and enhanced by state owned entities such as the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) , Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) and the various universities and colleges that not only train a wide range of subject matter specialists and technicians (including veterinarians, animal and grassland scientists, animal nutritionists, economists and a wide range of technicians ) but also do research into key aspects of production including breeding, rangeland and forages, animal nutrition, animal diseases and parasites – working in close collaboration with various institutes and the private sector.
This support base makes it possible for South Africa to be a major player in the regional and international animal agriculture arenas and provides the necessary assurances for our products on local, regional and international markets.
Programme Director and delegates, you will recall that last year we reported that the country regained its foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free zone status in February 2014. We reported in Parliament that our country’s FMD free zone status was reconfirmed by the World Organisation for Animal Health, the OIE in February 2015. Our retained FMD status allows us an opportunity to grow the livestock industry which is conservatively estimated to be worth around R50 billion.
Our FMD free status has enabled us to negotiate market access for our cloven-hoofed animal products. We are in the process of negotiating the export of game meat to the European Union and beef to the Middle East.
Your association has to utilise this opportunity to explore value addition and export of our products.
Your association within the livestock industry is also a key stakeholder; and it is therefore an honour to be invited to open this congress.
The Red Meat Abattor Association (RMAA) provides a very essential service to the industry that includes food safety management system, laboratory sampling, audits, operational support, skills development facilitation, research and the development of guidelines, and abattoir plans. Your theme – managing a changing meat safety environment – is most appropriate and you have a range of speakers and subjects that include the economic environment and challenges for the red meat industry, the all-important issue of energy and water, consumer perspectives, animal welfare and the influence of animal handling on meat quality, abattoir design, equipment and by-product sterilisation.
The role of the red meat industry in food control cannot be overemphasized. It is the responsibility of the food business operator to ensure that the product they produce is safe for human consumption. The role of Government should be seen as being there to supplement and complement the assurances by the business operator in ensuring food safety.
Programme Director, I trust that the issue of animal identification and value chain traceability will also be included in your deliberations – taking the importance of verifying ownership of all animals slaughtered and providing assurances on the origin, welfare (humane handling and slaughter) as well as the safety of the product to all consumers.
Recently, South Africa had the privilege of hosting a regional workshop on animal identification and recording systems for traceability and livestock development in Sub Saharan Africa. This event was jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR), the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Stud Book and Animal Improvement Association, the South African Agricultural Research Council and the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources with support from public and private sector partners from Africa and beyond – including the OIE - and it culminated in what is now referred to as the Pretoria declaration – highlighting the importance of individual animal identification and traceability to provide assurances on animal health and welfare as well as the safety of meat and meat products.
It would be well worth your while to study this document and to see how your association could collaborate with local and regional efforts to improve value chain traceability and product assurances both locally and regionally.
Stock theft is also a major problem in South Africa and it is important that all parties work together to control this problem as effectively as possible. Part of this is making sure that all animals slaughtered have a legal owner–identification mark and all affected members of the RMAA should cooperate fully with the authorities in enforcing positive proof of ownership before any slaughter takes place.
Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to focus on specific challenges facing the abattoir sector and the related production value chain.
Food controls in South Africa have in the recent years received increasing and unprecedented attention. This appears to be a global trend as the communities both locally and abroad are increasingly conscious of the quality and safety of foods they consume.
In particular and most recently, the mislabeling of imported and locally produced food products has been a subject of concern. In this regard, Parliament instructed the departments involved in regulatory controls of foods of animal origin to work together to propose holistic controls of food safety. Inter-departmental consultations between the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) are ongoing in order to strengthen controls over imported and locally produced food products of animal origin.
Organised industry role-players have expressed concerns relating to the standard, quality and independence of meat inspection at our abattoirs. The major concern of technical independency in meat inspection has also been highlighted in the Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) Report by the OIE following a recent mission to South Africa.
The department has also noted the Court order of the Northern Gauteng High Court regarding the implementation of Independent Meat Inspection dated 14th April 2015.
In response to these concerns, the department together with role players in industry consulted widely with all stakeholders and role players and a Proposal on Independent Meat Inspection was presented and in-principle approval has been granted. The department is currently working on an implementation plan for the proposal. The departmental officials will provide comprehensive details on this implementation plan during your AGM at the end of this congress.
Ladies and gentlemen, notwithstanding the aforementioned challenges, I am of the view that the future for our meat industry is bright. The department in association with its partners is currently exploring international markets through various bilateral and multilateral agreements with various countries. Recently, veterinary authorities of many countries have visited South Africa in order to evaluate veterinary controls with the sole purpose of importing South African meat into their countries. Countries such as Russia, Singapore, Egypt, Kenya, United States, the European Union and many more have visited the country.
I want to specifically thank those members of the industry who have opened the doors to their farms, abattoirs, and other processing plants for inspection by foreign missions. The future is bright, let us all work together and explore these opportunities.
I wish you success in your congress – I look forward to the feedback on issues you will tackle as indicated in your programme.
Thank you. Baie dankie.
