Disciplines represented on the Board

1. Protein consumers

   1. South African Poultry Association (SAPA)

      The poultry industry has seen a recovery in profitability following a number of bad years, due mainly to a reduction in feed prices and an increased demand for poultry meat resulting in part from the demise of many small producers in the country. Bird flu resulted in problems especially for the layer and broiler breeder industries and this has resulted in a change in the housing systems used in these industries. Whereas in the past most layer and broiler breeder houses were open, and hence vulnerable to wild bird visitations, broiler houses are closed in most instances and as a result they avoided being infected by bird flu. Egg producers have taken note and are closing their poultry houses and replacing their four-tier cage systems with six-tier systems, thereby reducing the capital cost of housing by increasing population density whilst simultaneously keeping wild birds out of these buildings. The incidence of future bird flu outbreaks in the egg industry should be curtailed to a large extent by this intervention. Ostriches still remain particularly vulnerable however.

   2. South African Pork Producers Association (SAPPA)

      The pig industry was very badly hit by the outbreak of Listeriosis in Gauteng, with the consumption of processed meat falling dramatically as a result. The public are still wary of consuming processed meat products, so the industry is taking a long time to return to normal. Performance of pigs continues to improve, especially as many of the bigger producers have invested in improved housing and equipment, so efficiency of production is better than it has ever been. It is so regrettable that when economic conditions improve for different sectors in agriculture the benefits are short-lived because invariably some disease or other intervention appears and spoils the party.