South Africa's black farmers and the 'Karan merger'

If all parties, including government, do what they're supposed to, Karan Beef's merger with SK Caine should open up lucrative opportunities for black farmers in the beef value chain, says Dr Sifiso Ntombela.

- Dr Sifiso Ntombela

The Agriculture and Agro-processing Master Plan (AAMP) identified beef as one of the local industries with a huge potential to unlock investment and economic growth in rural areas.

Of the country's cattle herd of roughly 12,8 million head, about 41% is produced and owned by black farmers.

In 2021, the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) estimated that an additional 750 000 weaners could be supplied by black farmers on land-reform farms and in rural areas, provided their herd productivity was improved.

This would require investment in rural infrastructure such as dipping tanks, fencing of grazing fields, and better-yielding cattle breeds.

Moreover, the BAFP noted that improvements in herd productivity, coupled with government's efforts to regain South Africa's foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free status, could potentially increase the share of beef exports from the current 5% to 25% of domestic production in the medium-to-long term.

Effectively, this means that better herd productivity and stronger biosecurity measures will add R15 billion to beef gross production value over and above the business-as-usual scenario by 2028.

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