ChickenBytes

Food choices on a tight budget are tough. For students living off a grant and attending university, every purchase counts. Our recent podcast delved into how poultry pricing may be affecting these decisions. Follow us on ChickenFactsfor more poultry related news https://www.chickenfacts.co.za/

In this episode, we will be discussing the importance of empowering and educating individuals who are interested in the import and export industry, specifically in the South African poultry industry. We are thrilled to have Surisa Nel, the Stakeholder Engagement & Transformation Lead for AMIE (Association of Meat Importers & Exporters), join us for today's podcast to shed light on this exciting initiative. The AMIE Academy is a result of the organization's idea to earmark 20% of the total levy income for transformation. This academy aims to address the shortage of black traders and is a step towards expanding the country's ability to move beyond commodities. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into this groundbreaking venture!

The ever-interesting Simon Brown of Money-Web discusses the rising cost of living - is this a blip or a trend?  His opinions are encouraging.  Listen here

Today’s idea of living dangerously also includes braving supermarket shelves in the face of soaring food prices.  In our podcast, economist Thabile Nkunjana of the National Agricultural Marketing Council provides a roadmap, a canoe and a paddle for consumers who want to navigate the rapids of food inflation. 

In Season 2 we are really going to get to grips with some issues. There is a different mood in the country, people are becoming impatient with promises, and they are taking their future into their own hands. Loadshedding, water shortages, civil unrest, poor service delivery... these things might sound really important, but what is even more important is how they affect food security. Researcher & host Niki Moore will be back discussing the wider impact of South Africa’s favourite and most affordable protein.  So stay tuned for Bytes size facts. Bytes size information & Bytes size conversations.

In July 2023 AMIE announced the launch of a development programme under the banner of the AMIE Academy. The launch of the academy is a call to action for all industry stakeholders to take the lead in upskilling employees and SMME’s in the meat trade industry as a critical action to boost sustainable economic growth and food security in South Africa. The steak on your braai was on a complicated journey from farm to fire. There are multiple links in the chain to supply your Braai Day. The meat and poultry importer and exporter plays a pivotal role. It is not easy to enter this market on your own. We spoke to Grant Hendricks, entrepreneur and Executive Member of AMIE as well as a member of the Transformation Oversight Committee who has been on this journey and understands the importance of a support structure, good content, and commitment. Nominations: https://forms.gle/Rpa7nXM7GdXjC83o8  Applications: https://forms.gle/B9w8wt9mxSfHLWhc6  Enquiries: surisa@amiesa.co.za 

In this podcast, Association of Meat Importers and Exporters CEO Paul Matthew interviews deputy director of the Free Market Foundation Chris Hattingh. There are some surprising insights in this podcast:  Hattingh stresses that it would be short-sighted to impose import quotas on industries that are in such foundational disarray.  He states that it would be better to focus on fixing the country’s dysfunctional trading infrastructure than reducing international trade.

Be Aware, Be Informed, Be Prepared. If there are new import tariffs, the price of chicken might go up.  But is the motivation for increased tariffs based on correct information?  Our podcast unpacks what dumping is, how import tariffs are calculated, and what information is used in order to decide if there is dumping or not.  Join industry experts to get insight into this fascinating topic. Join Paul Matthew, trade experts Dr Martin Cameron and Donald Mackay while they explain how the data that ITAC is investigating is more complex than just the trading statistics.

Be Aware, Be Informed, Be Prepared. You love your chicken, right? Do you know why chicken is South Africa’s favourite fast food? And do you know that the price of chicken might go up till it is unaffordable? Chicken Facts brings you the Chicken Bytes podcast, which unpacks the complex issues around the price and supply of your Number One meal.

For something so tiny, it seems there is almost nothing that the Black Soldier Fly cannot do! Philafeed is a Cape-Town-based company that assists small farmers to add feed production to their own value chain, bring down the cost of feed, convert waste into protein, generate fertiliser, and grow healthier chickens. https://www.philafeed.co.za/

Dineo Mahlatse gave up her city lifestyle as an accountant to go home and help her parents run their small chicken business.  Already she is busy transforming the family business with tech and disruptor innovation, and creating the dream for any family business - creating generational wealth.  Dineo's innovations have earned her many awards, including the MTN's Business App of the Year and the FoodforMzansi New Face of SA Agriculture award.   If you want to get in touch with Dineo, please join our Disruptor's United group by sending a mail to editor@chickenfacts.co.za or contact her directly at 073 941 2475. 

Against a background of rising unemployment and stagnant economic growth, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is about to get a new minister. In our podcast, economics professor Lawrence Edwards identifies some urgent priorities for the new minister.

This last week, ChickenFacts hosted its first-ever webinar.  The webinar was in response to a growing awareness that a network was needed to bring together all the small, medium and emerging entrepreneurs in the poultry value chain who were quietly transforming the industry.

The flagship AMIE Academy boot camp, which is halfway through its programme, has already delivered some insights which would be of interest to anyone involved in CSI projects. The podcast is also accompanied by a Closer Look that summarises the key points

Transformation in the poultry industry is bringing forward the disruptors - the entrepreneurs who are transforming the industry to benefit emerging farmers. One such disruptor is Flo Mosoane, with her agri-tech start-up EasyChicken. In our podcast, she explains how it works.

Carla Kote is a disruptor - not only has she facilitated a ground-breaking export deal to China worth R300 million a year, but she is shaking up the entire poultry value chain. Listen to what she has to say about the future of poultry exports from South Africa and her exciting predications about our export potential in particular.

The poultry industry in South Africa is in dire need of transformation, but according to the African Poultry Producer's (APP) Kobedi Pilane, the industry has adopted a top-down approach that is simply perpetuating inequality. Kobedi is always interesting, engaging and direct, and he says that the APP has a plan - just a pity the government is not listening.

Transformation is a hot-button issue in the South African economy. The Poultry Master Plan identified transformation as a key concern. AMIE, through their AMIE Academy, has taken an innovative approach to transformation through their Boot Camp. Take a listen here to find out what they, along with ESD specialists Tushiyah Advisory Services, are doing differently. Look for the explainer here: https://www.chickenfacts.co.za/explainer/

The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity group provides an interesting service - it tracks the value of a basic food basket through the prices that consumers actually pay at the till. This is extremely important to get insight into the buying patterns of the middle-to-lower income consumer - people who rely on social grants and state pensions. Mervyn Abrahams explains the vital role that the PMBEJD organisation plays in reflecting the lived experience of customers, as opposed to faceless CPI statistics.

The recent AGOA conference hosted in Johannesburg has led to a diplomatic egg-dance over trade between the US and South Africa and our domestic foreign policy. It might have implications for our poultry industry, but there are larger economic issues at stake. In our podcast, risk analyst Chris Hattingh discusses the likely outcome of the next few months of AGOA negotiations.