Part 1
In the last quarter of 2023, SAPPO conducted an online survey to determine which research and development (R&D) areas were most pertinent to various industry role-players. A link for the survey was sent out in the SAPPO newsletter, and we received feedback from 101 respondents. The topics used were drawn from the R&D committee’s focus areas document. These topics stemmed from areas of interest to the various heads of the departments within SAPPO, including Business Development, Business Intelligence, Consumer Education and Consumer Assurance. Twelve topics were listed as options, and 626 responses were received on them. The results are indicated below.
SAPPO, as a farmers’ organisation, values farmers’ opinions highly. Therefore, the R&D committee has used and will continue to use this information to guide research funding in South Africa.
Part 2
In light of this, it is pertinent to highlight some of the SAPPO-sponsored research that is currently underway. Below is a list of research project titles.
- Multi-locus sequence typing of African swine fever viruses (ASFV) from outbreaks to establish an ASFV Virusbank
- Evaluation of the microbiome, isolation and characterisation of zoonotic and multidrug-resistant bacteria of interest to the pork industry in fresh produce and waste food consumed by humans and animals, respectively
- Assessing young South African consumer preferences for fresh pork meat and processed pork attributes
- Effect of age and diet on boar taint parameters in intact boars and the detection of boar taint by consumers
- South African pork audit
- Prevalence, perceptions, and mitigation of antimicrobial resistance in pig farms of Gauteng Province of the Republic of South Africa
- Occurrence, serotypes, virulence characteristics and antimicrobial resistance profiles and whole genome sequencing of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae isolates from pigs in South Africa
- Macadamia oilcake as an alternative feed ingredient for protein and energy supply in grower–finisher swine diets
- Nutritional value of seven primal cuts of the South African pork carcass
- New modelling and user-friendly visualisation approach to improve surveillance and control of African swine fever (ASF) in South Africa
- Putting pork on the menu: Using naturally wood-smoked pork cuts as a mood and flavour enhancer to drive pork meal consumption
- Evaluation of the HotHog app for monitoring heat stress alongside physiological parameters
If you have any questions about these projects, please contact thandi@sappo.org.
