Eastern Cape Red Meat Project: quick guide

What we do

ComMark’s Eastern Cape Red Meat Project (ECRMP) works with emerging and communal farmers to increase their access to formal red meat markets. The purpose is to gain greater income for the farmers and address conditions of poverty in the Eastern Cape. The ECRMP creates ways for farmers to access formal markets through the following interventions:  

• KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERS

The programme provides farmers opportunities to understand the structure, operation and requirements of formal red meat markets.

• MARKETING

Marketing includes the development of channels like auction, abattoir, and feedlot opportunities that will increase farmers’ access to formal red meat markets.

• TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Farmers learn how to align the age, health and breeding of animals more closely to market demand. ComMark’s Animal Production Specialist is  also based in the Eastern Cape to provide timely and dedicated expertise on land management and improved breeding and cattle health. 

• LEVERAGED ACCESS TO MARKETS

ComMark negotiates easier access to retailers and retail chains such as Pick ‘n Pay and retailers associations through agreements for groups of farmers to sell directly to these market outlets.

How we work
The ECRMP works within communal farm areas to engage farmers about their interest in maximising market access. The initiative includes a strong research element and significant community involvement. The process includes awareness raising opportunities such as facilitated and guided visits to formal market institutions such as auctions and abattoirs and includes on-site training to break down the information barriers that often keep Black communal and emerging farmers from participating in formal market processes. The ECRMP also serves as a knowledge hub so that farmers get accurate information about grading and pricing of cattle.

Why this intervention

The project focuses on emerging and communal farm areas that have been historically marginalized due to apartheid. The project helps these farmers earn more income from their asset base. Further, ComMark research shows that promising opportunities exist for emerging/communal farmers to increase their income through making more extensive use of formal meat marketing channels where the speed and volume of sales is far greater than in informal markets and higher prices are available. Our 2003-2004 study indicated that emerging and communal farmers in the Eastern Cape earn far less income from their livestock assets than commercial farmers. Although two-thirds of the 3.1 million cattle in the province are owned by emerging and communal farmers, commercial farmers market two to three times more animals and realise gross margins per head that are three to four times greater than what emerging and communal farmers get.

ComMark interventions enable emerging and communal famers to become part of formal – as well as informal – meat marketing chains. This can be done within a relatively short period and participation is open to all, on a self-selecting basis. Even the poorest owners of livestock, with only a few animals, are able to engage the formal market through our project.

What we achieve

• Strong Farmers’ Associations/ Strong Communities

We help strengthen farmers’ associations and ensure their involvement in the planning and implementation of the project’s activities. Furthermore, when we appoint staff preference is given to community members. 

• Increased profit and return on investment for emerging and communal farmers.

This includes an increased number of animals – in particular the number of younger animals - sold annually by emerging/communal farmers and an increased price received per kilogram.

• Bring the point of sale closer to farmers

Our work in this area helps overcome apartheid-era centralization of markets and provides greater access for farmers in historically disadvantaged areas. We address structural issues so farmers do not have to transport livestock 100s of kilometres, thus reducing farm-to-market prices. Reducing transport and transaction costs to auctioneers means more money for emerging farmers.

• Facilitate the establishment of new auction pens and abattoirs

We work to revive existing, underutilized and non-functioning auction pens and abattoirs to provide increased market opportunities for farmers.

• Innovative Custom Feeding Programmes

We develop model low-cost feedlots to prepare cattle for higher-end markets. This targets the production and marketing of 9-12 month-old animals (‘weaners’) which fetch the best price per kilogram.

• Negotiate pre-slaughter sale agreements

Our staff builds links between farmer groups and retailers to facilitate the sale of larger numbers of cattle at the most favourable prices.

How is this sustainable

A founding principle of the project has been to premise all development activities on thorough research and on solid buy-in from farmers and other important role-players. This support has been gained by explaining the project’s goals and methods and by securing broad-based participation in planning and decision-making from the start.

Prior to ComMark’s withdrawal from each successive district and phase of the project, it is intended that farmers should experience the concrete benefits to income, price per kilogram, profit and return on investment that will be needed to motivate their ongoing involvement in the activities concerned. ComMark’s role is to ensure the establishment of the infrastructure, systems and procedures essential for the realization of these benefits, to build the relationships with public and private sector stakeholders needed to maintain and expand this framework, to provide the necessary training to farmers and to encourage and assist their initial participation, on occasions through limited subsidies.

Who we work with

Emerging and Communal Farmers
Emerging and communal farmers are our primary stakeholders. To secure genuine buy-in of participating communities and to provide a solid platform for up-scaling to the province, we conduct community-based research and awareness raising processes. This enables farmers to contribute to project design and understand the project’s objectives and methods from the ground up.  

Provincial and Local Government
We have built solid, positive relationships with provincial and local government. The most important of these has been with the local branches of the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture (ECDA). The Department has been informed and involved from the start. Some members of ECDA staff have been allocated to help the project on a part-time basis and its extension officers and animal health technicians have now become strong advocates for the project. The Department also helps with the transport of cattle. Support from local government has also been important, especially in terms of infrastructure development and maintenance. The project gets active assistance from the District and/or the Local Municipality in all of the regions where we operate.

Public Advocacy and Research Institutions
We work directly with the National Agricultural Marketing Council and the Agricultural Research Council. Both play important roles by contributing financial and technical capacity through the services of their staff.

Private Sector Leadership
We seek and develop private sector partnerships to leverage impact and sustainability. Most prominent has been the funding and on-the-ground assistance received from WBHO Construction. WBHO has been instrumental in enabling the project to take root in the Umzimvubu area where the company is engaged in road construction and has committed itself to contributing to sustainable development. The ECRMP’s activities in this area take place under the banner of the ‘Umzimvubu Red Meat Project’.
Other private sector partnerships include those with Stewart Auctioneers and Pfizer Chemicals.