As a precursor to SAPPO’s board meeting on Thursday 22 February 2024, a pork value chain strategy session was held. Participants included chief executive officers from abattoirs and processor groups, input suppliers, retail representatives, board members, and non-board-member farmers.
The strategic session was facilitated by Willie Miller, SAPPO’s independent board member. Robust discussions and debate were the order of the day around several subjects. These included the role of Pork 360 and, in particular, the role of Pork 360 in determining quality. One question was whether Pork 360 needs to determine eating quality and address boar taint, or whether this a function of the market? The consensus was that we (the value chain) must ensure that the public perception of pork is prioritised and that Pork 360 should examine and review standards with that goal in mind and remain science based. The meeting was also of the opinion that the value of Pork 360 needs to be marketed more visibly.
A clear message from the strategy session was that SAPPO must continue with generic marketing of pork, while processors would remain responsible for their own brands. Some of the participants felt strongly that marketing of pork should cover all LSM groups in the country and that pork marketing to different groups must match their preferences for eating quality and nutrient value. Marketing should clearly convey the message that pork is good value for money, not a cheap product.
Food safety was highlighted as a non-negotiable and a concern was raised that health oversight of processing facilities by some municipalities was not as robust as it should be. As a value chain, we need to be cognisant of the reputational and financial harm of a food-safety scare, like the listeria issue in 2018. In a country where government resources are under pressure, self-regulation becomes extremely important.
Lastly, participants highlighted the need and value SAPPO plays in lobbying and cooperating with government departments, especially around biosecurity and disease outbreak management.
The SAPPO management team presented marketing, development, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) plans for 2024 to the board. The board acknowledged the research and effort that has been put into developing an ESG framework for the South African pig industry and they fully support the addition of measurements (metrics) into Pork 360 to address ESG. The board also endorsed the marketing plans for 2024 and encouraged SAPPO to continue with their endeavours in the social media space and on community radio stations.
SAPPO has been granted development funding from AgriSETA for 2024, which provides much-needed funds for SAPPO Academy. The numbers of learners who will receive training and who can attend leadership programmes will be greatly increased.
SAPPO would like to thank everyone that participated in the strategy session for giving up valuable time to assist and guide SAPPO’s strategy and planning. We realise that we are part of a value chain and cannot operate in silos; talking to each other on a regular basis is critical.
