SAPPO: Positive Influence for Sustainable SA Industry

“Only 8-10% of total animal consumption in South Africa is pork,” admits Johann Kotzé, CEO of the South African Pork Producers Organisation (SAPPO). It’s small compared to chicken which is about 60%, he says. “But we believe we play a major role in leadership. We do not believe leadership is determined by the size of the industry but rather by the influence that you have, and we view ourselves as great influencers in the agricultural space.”

SAPPO is the national association responsible for facilitating a sustainable and profitable pork industry through the provision of various initiatives around training and development, marketing, standard implementation, and welfare.

Representing around 500 producers as well as industry stakeholders, SAPPO is at the heart of the country’s agricultural sector, innovating and inspiring to bring together key players from farmers and suppliers to abattoirs and processors and retailers. The organisation is also connected into the international industry and national and provincial government to ensure the most up to date information is available for all stakeholders. Through different arms (SA Pork, Pork 360, World of Pork), SAPPO reaches produces, retailers, and consumers and is at the forefront of the sector’s problem-solving effort.

BOUNTIFUL OFFERING

For Kotzé, the pork industry has much to offer, even in challenging economic conditions. The meat itself is rich in protein, niacin, vitamins, iron, and zinc. It is also less fatty and calorific than beef. Pigs are quick to grow and easy to manage, they are mostly friendly animals that are quick to reproduce. And they require less land than other animals.

A key offering from SAPPO is education and upskilling as the sector has become inaccessible as a result of significant barriers to entry. With so much to offer, it is now important for young farmers to join the industry and build on the promise that already exists.

“The barrier to entry around commercial pig farming is extremely high because of the cost. It would cost R100,000-120,000 per sow when starting a greenfield project,” details Kotzé. “For an entry level farmer, you’re looking at around R15 million for 500 sows. Capital-wise, it’s a major barrier for commercial scale. You can, of course, start with five or 10 sows and grow from there but your production method will be different and you will be more exposed to economic risk, virus risk, and biosecurity risk.”

To address this, SAPPO is working from the ground up, nurturing the next generation of farmers, exposing them to the industry from a young age and demonstrating what is possible and how it can be achieved.

“We have adopted schools into our mentorship programme and that helps drive awareness around zoonotic diseases, hygiene, and biosecurity among young people,” says Kotzé. “It is the basics about the industry and that is vital for the future of the industry. We travel to primary or agricultural schools and we give training so that they have the correct curriculum and knowledge. The schools programme is exciting as it is an area in which we have never focussed. Previously, we have only communicated with young people who have left school and entered farming. This is below that and we want to influence kids at primary and high school level so they understand what pig farming is actually about.”

Here, SAPPO is uniquely qualified to deliver knowledge. Established in the early 80s as a government function, pricing and information was entirely controlled by the state. Post 94, SAPPO moved to a provincial structure and was no longer embedded in government. It was a voluntary system, but in 2016 it cut to what is recognised today with all provincial organisations amalgamated, operating as a non-profit association with a statutory levy. From 2017, a levy has been paid for every single pig slaughtered in an abattoir or commercial slaughterhouse with the money collected and transferred to SAPPO, governed by the National Agricultural Marketing Council.

WIDE REACH

The money raised through the industry levy is distributed across various functions, all designed around upliftment of the industry, says Kotzé.

“Firstly, it’s for consumer assurance – vet and national animal health programmes and negotiations with government on exports around health. Secondly, consumer education and communications is about promoting pork – we don’t sell pork but we do promote the category through different channels. Third is business intelligence – a big focus for us – looking after all the data that comes from farmers around the country. We package and distribute that data for the benefit of the industry.

“Fourth is business development where we look to expand the industry locally though mentorship programmes, training, skills development, and other schemes. Each province has a business development manager to assist here. Lastly, we have a corporate governance department where we are busy looking into sustainability of the pork industry in South Africa, developing a framework to make sure adhere to principles and embed that into the industry.”

Currently, there are major hurdles for many businesses, and agriculture is not removed from a challenging economic environment. Sluggish or no growth in national GDP, inflationary pressure, political uncertainty, global macro issues including the war in Ukraine, and the lingering impact of the pandemic all contribute to a hesitant business landscape.

This is where education from SAPPO plays a major role, preparing farmers for market shocks and offering teachings around business management alongside farming principles.

“We do a lot of online training for small scale farmers and we also provide training for employees of farms. We have a lot of training and skills development available at the base of the pyramid and we work upwards,” Kotzé enthuses.

“We had a site where we would provide onsite training but we had to abandon that scheme because of South African Swine Fever. It was a small unit on the site of a much larger farm and we could train people onsite through a programme around the basic intro to pig farming. We had to restructure that programme as SAPPO Academy and take people through an online training programme instead. It is very immersive and gives all of the same information across 11 modules. We are accredited with AgriSETA and we are busy rolling that out now.”

African Swine Fever (ASF) is a contagious disease which can cause sudden death in pigs, decimating income for small scale farmers and knocking confidence of farming communities. Recent outbreaks have been unwelcome for farmers who are already under pressure from wider, macro-economic issues.

For SAPPO, distribution and sharing of knowledge around biosecurity, as well as providing assurances from animal health professionals, is an essential part of its core purpose.

“Urbanisation plays a major role in our industry, specifically for informal and small-scale farmers. A lot of people are moving to urban and peri urban areas around the cities. Pigs play a major role in the functionality of communities, and this caused a problem around the outbreak of various diseases. Biosecurity in these communities is not strict and does not always protect animals against the outbreak of certain diseases. From where we were 10 years ago around major outbreaks of disease to where we are today, it is a totally different concept,” Kotzé says of the success of SAPPO’s outreach.

“Commercial farmers were impacted as biosecurity became a concept of great significance. Large scale farmers went very strict on biosecurity and that is the right way to go to protect yourself. Urbanisation of South Africa has played a major role in the behaviour of farmers as the movement of people created a pathway for diseases to travel,” he adds of the industry’s change over the years.

EMBRACING DIGITAL

To ensure the organisation stays apace with change and advancement, while continuing to distribute useful information to all stakeholders, SAPPO has invested in new digital resources to enable meaningful discussions in an online environment. Zach and Suzy – digital brand champions of SAPPO and pork in general – are already busy learning and helping to share helpful tips to keep people informed.

“There are thousands of small-scale farmers in South Africa who are informal and not connected – not with government, not with SAPPO, and not with an abattoir,” says Kotzé. “We created a digital character called Zach, and he does social listening on what is online in the pork industry. We then pick up on hot topics and problems in pig farming. For example, Zach might pick up on a discussion about why it is important to give piglets iron. We then create some information around the answers to that question and Zach can post and share. Zach has a good impact in the informal sector and that is very helpful. This material teaches and delivers the basis around animal health for pigs. The highest risk for the sector in South Africa is informal farmers without access to a vet. Through training, we believe we can communicate and offer sound advice.

“On the consumer side, we have a digital character called Suzy,” he explains. “She is like Zach, listening to discussions on social media but on the consumer side. She will bring facts and dispel myths about pork and related topics online. She delivers recipes and shows people the beauty of pork. It is all about servicing a communication gap across certain LSMs.”

SAPPO also recently launched its SELEKT platform on YouTube, to deliver content that will assist in bringing the farmer and consumer closer together. Many do not understand the processes involved in modern farming or even the type of people that are producing food on the shelves. New short videos will bring new information to ensure the industry becomes transparent at all levels.

“We communicate well with all stakeholders, and they understand the value of what we create from the statutory levy. We do a lot of awareness campaigns and we are heavily focussed on communicating with shareholders. The consumer awareness comes from SA Pork which is focused on the beauty of meat as a product,” says Kotzé.

In the future, with more knowledge available thanks to SAPPO’s promotions, the CEO is hoping for a united front when it comes to biosecurity and animal welfare.

“The industry must be cohesive in the methods we use to combat disease. The disease does not understand poverty or wealth. We must look to how we can protect ourselves as an entire industry against viruses and the methodology of the virus. If we can get to a level where everyone, including the smallest of the small, understands at a granular level about how to uplift the whole health status of South Africa’s animals then we will have done well,” smiles Kotzé.

The influence of SAPPO is its key strength and, as the sector advances, even through the most difficult of times, this is an organisation that will be there to support, not for profit, but for the health and welfare of the entire industry. Kotzé is confident that SAPPO is working with some of the best.

“The value chain is simplistic, but we are highly dependent on everyone in the chain. The smallest disruption can upset the entire chain substantially. That is why we are thankful to have great companies in this space,” he concludes.