By: Tebogo Mokwena
Ten mobile abattoirs aimed at providing township meat-producing small enterprises with abattoirs to promote growth in the sector have been launched by Gauteng Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment MEC Mbali Hlophe. The launch took place at Moroka Chickens, one of the beneficiaries of the abattoir, at Ironside in De Deur, Midvaal this week.
According to Hlophe, eight of the abattoirs were for poultry and the other two for red meat. Each poultry abattoir cost the department R22,6-million, while the red meat ones were R21,8-million each. Each poultry abattoir has the capacity to slaughter 2000 birds per day, and the red meat mobile abattoirs can slaughter six cattle per day. Beneficiaries of the abattoirs have received certificates of compliance.
Hlophe said that farmers who were in close proximity could now slaughter their livestock without spending lots of money travelling long distances to access abattoirs. Hlophe also said that the mobile abattoirs would ensure access to approved slaughter facilities for beneficiaries of the Farner Support and Development Programme, who were supplied with broiler-grower stock and other broiler production inputs.
The abattoirs will also promote entrepreneurship amongst small-scale farmers and mitigate against the illegal slaughter of poultry and other animals. “Many smallholder farmers and processors in Gauteng and across the country often face serious difficulties in accessing markets to sell their goods in the marketplace,” Hlophe said.
“They are constrained by the low volume of production, a lack of knowledge regarding what the market needs, their remote location, high transportation costs, limited technical knowledge, and the lack of business skills… It should not be the case that market access should remain elusive for many smallholder farmers and SME agro-processors, especially those participating in the township agro-food value chains.”
Hlophe also encouraged small producers to start participating in the value chain beyond primary production. “Modern food systems place smallholder farmers on the edge of survival, while it remains one of the viable routes out of poverty,” she noted. “The department is fully cognizant of this and it is in this context rolling out farmer markets throughout various townships in order to enhance opportunities for market access for various farmers as well as processors and stakeholders along the value chain “Beneficiaries of the mobile abattoirs are encouraged to participate in the broader farmers’ markets initiative,” she also said.
