The government has applauded Rainbow Chicken for investing millions of rands in the Hammarsdale abattoir in KwaZulu-Natal, creating 1 000 jobs for surrounding communities.
Celebrating 60 years of existence, the giant poultry producer opened a new plant in the area aimed at reinstating a second processing shift.
Minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development Thoko Didiza and minister of trade, industry and competition Ebrahim Patel attended the celebrations and agreed that the opening of the plant confirmed the success of several aspects of the Poultry Master Plan.
Investment in poultry
“Rainbow has invested R220 million in their Hammarsdale abattoir and 78 contract grower houses are being constructed valued at another R400 million,” Patel said.
Besides investment, it also ticked job creation, poultry exports, and the establishment of black contract growers boxes.
A symbol of success
Didiza said she was hopeful that the investment made by Rainbow Chicken was going to benefit the women and locals who were in dire need of employment.
“This event is a symbol of success from such public-private partnerships which is uplifting the confidence in agriculture and critical industries such as poultry.
Poultry is the single biggest industry in the livestock subsector worth R54 billion in 2022. The sector employs more than 100 thousand persons,” she added.
‘We are on the right path’
According to Didiza, the industry value has been growing at an average of 5.3% per annum since the industry and government signed the Poultry Master Plan in 2019.
“The interventions committed under the Poultry Master Plan are yielding positive outcomes. Domestic producers like RCL Foods and others have headed the call to increase local production and create jobs.
“Between 2019 and 2022, domestic production for chicken meat increased from 1.7 to 1.84 million tons per year outpacing local consumption which decelerated by 7% during this period,” Didiza said.
Room for improvement remains
However, Didiza said when it comes to transformation and inclusion as well as the affordability of chicken meat, the room for improvement remained relatively huge.
“It is estimated that small-scale and subsistence farmers contribute roughly 9% to total production, implying that while the size of the industry has grown, the value has not been equitably distributed amongst all categories of farmers,” she said.
According to Didiza, a graduation strategy from contract farming is needed to achieve meaningful inclusivity in the sector.
“I make these remarks knowing fully the challenges that the industry faces, ranging from the increasing inputs costs, availability of the parental stock, access to export markets, affordable finance, and land.
“Another challenging factor for the industry is the unreliable energy supply. We are in the process of launching the agri energy fund which will incentivise farmers and agribusinesses to invest in alternative energy sources,” she added.
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