South Africa’s grain industry is benefiting from the poultry master plan, which has created growth and jobs in the poultry value chain, according the Animal Feed Manufacturers’ Association (AFMA).
In a statement accompanying AFMA’s annual statistics for the year to March 2022, CEO De Wet Boshoff said the demand for poultry feed had increased by 2.4%, despite bird flu-related declines in layer and breeder numbers.
This was part of the positive effect of industry-led initiatives in terms of the 2019 poultry sector master plan. The industry had invested more than R1.5 billion, with an additional R570 million still to come.
“With this master plan now in its third year of implementation, these investments by industry stakeholders are starting to yield results in terms of establishing new entrant commercial hatcheries, expansion of weekly bird placements (more than 1.8 million birds per week) establishing new entrant commercial contract growers (18 additional new entrant contract growers) and creating additional direct jobs (more than 1 450 jobs),” Boshoff said.
“As the momentum continues and objectives are being achieved in the different animal production sectors (poultry and livestock) it will most definitely drive further feed production in South Africa, with its own set of positive multiplier effects, both upstream and downstream,” he stated.
It’s an extensive value chain and the potential benefits are substantial, with the export drive likely to kick in by the end of this year.
