Navigating the legal landscape for emerging poultry farmers

Emerging poultry farmers face a host of legal, environmental, and practical challenges. Poultry nutritionist Dr Sipokazi Nyeleka spoke to Octavia Avesca Spandiel about the complexities of starting and running a compliant and sustainable poultry enterprise.

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Getting a poultry business off the ground is a demanding exercise, especially for emerging farmers, but it can be a rewarding one, too. While the demand for poultry products continues to rise, the regulatory and legal requirements governing the industry can often pose significant challenges for new entrants. Dr Sipokazi Nyeleka, a poultry nutritionist and the learnership and operations manager at Afrivet Training & Technical Services, has spent years working closely with emerging poultry farmers across the country.

Her work involves facilitating workshops and training sessions focused on poultry production, disease management, and nutrition, equipping small-scale producers with the tools they need to thrive in a regulated environment. According to Nyeleka, one of the many obstacles that emerging farmers face is understanding the legal requirements tied to scaling their businesses. “Different legal considerations apply to the different scales of production. For instance, a farmer who is only interested in remaining a subsistence farmer will not face the same legal requirements as an emerging farmer who is actively scaling their business,” she explains.

DAUNTING REGULATORY TERRAIN

Nyeleka adds that navigating the regulatory terrain can be daunting, but farmers don't have to go through it alone. She encourages new entrants to start at their local office of the Department of Agriculture.

“This is because government officials in the Department of Agriculture work closely with the officials in other departments who are linked to responsible farming, for instance, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. By approaching the Department of Agriculture, the farmer potentially saves a lot of time and is assisted by knowledgeable and accessible officials,” she says.