Call for Proposals

Despite the significant production and economic impacts of endemic livestock diseases such as Asiatic redwater, trichomoniasis, brucellosis, wireworm, bluetongue, and other vector-borne and parasitic diseases, the South African red meat industry lacks comprehensive, up-to-date empirical data on their prevalence, geographic distribution, transmission dynamics and associated risk factors.

Disease surveillance systems remain fragmented, resulting in limited visibility of disease occurrence across commercial, emerging and communal production systems. This constrains the industry’s ability to identify disease hotspots, monitor disease spread, implement targeted interventions and make evidence-based animal health decisions.

As disease pressures continue to evolve due to changing environmental conditions, livestock movements and production practices, there is an urgent need to strengthen the evidence base supporting disease surveillance and management within the South African livestock sector.

 

Research Need: Conduct empirical research to determine the prevalence, distribution, epidemiology, economic impact and clinical manifestation of priority endemic livestock diseases, including Asiatic redwater, trichomoniasis, brucellosis, wireworm and bluetongue, across South African production systems. The research should generate robust surveillance data, identify disease hotspots, transmission pathways and risk factors, and provide a clear understanding of how these diseases present in different livestock species and production environments. Research should quantify their impact on animal health, mortality, fertility, growth performance, productivity, profitability and market access, while assessing the broader economic implications for the red meat industry.

Based on the findings, the research must develop practical, evidence-based disease prevention, control and management strategies, including surveillance, biosecurity, veterinary and producer interventions, policy recommendations and implementation plans that can be adopted by industry and government to reduce disease prevalence and mitigate future disease risks. The research must be undertaken in active collaboration with relevant government animal health and veterinary authorities to ensure alignment with national priorities, regulatory frameworks and disease control programmes. Evidence of stakeholder engagement and co-development with government structures should form an integral component of the project to enhance the relevance, acceptance and adoption of the research outputs by both industry and government.

The focus should be on actionable animal health solutions rather than digital technology interventions, thereby providing a clear roadmap for improving disease control and strengthening the resilience of the South African livestock sector.

Biosecurity compliance remains inconsistent across farms, auctions, feedlots, transport systems, communal production systems and processing facilities. Limited awareness of the economic benefits of biosecurity, inconsistent implementation of standards and inadequate monitoring systems increase the risk of disease transmission, production losses and market disruptions.

Biosecurity is often viewed as a compliance requirement rather than a strategic risk-management tool, despite its role in protecting livestock assets, reducing disease-related losses and safeguarding market access.

As a result, the industry requires greater awareness and adoption of biosecurity practices as a cost-effective investment and an essential form of “insurance” against disease outbreaks and their economic consequences.

 

Research Need: Develop practical biosecurity standards, auditing systems, certification frameworks and adoption models suitable for diverse production systems. The research should first assess and compare biosecurity practices, constraints, risks, adoption barriers and implementation challenges across different provinces, production systems and value-chain segments, including commercial, emerging and communal livestock enterprises.

This may include pilot studies in selected geographic regions to generate evidence on contextual differences and biosecurity requirements. Findings should be used to inform the development of fit-for-purpose biosecurity standards, implementation models and certification frameworks that are scalable across the South African livestock sector.

The research should quantify the economic value of biosecurity, demonstrate its role in reducing disease-related losses and protecting market access, and develop evidence-based awareness and behaviour-change programmes that position biosecurity as a proactive risk-management tool and “insurance policy” for livestock enterprises.

Producers, including developing and emerging livestock farmers, face increasing difficulty accessing finance, insurance and growth capital due to perceived sector risks, inadequate production and performance data, inconsistent ESG reporting and limited evidence demonstrating financial resilience, sustainability performance and investment readiness. Financial institutions and insurers increasingly require credible, science-based information to assess environmental, production and financial risk, yet the red meat industry currently lacks a coordinated benchmarking system, verified ESG baseline and locally validated net-emission measurement model that can support evidence-based financing decisions.

At the same time, the South African red meat industry lacks reliable data and scientifically defensible methodologies to accurately measure greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration and net emissions across diverse livestock production systems. Current reporting approaches often focus on gross emissions and do not adequately recognise carbon removals through rangelands, soils, vegetation and animal products. This creates the risk that livestock production may be inaccurately represented in climate reporting, ESG assessments, financing criteria and policy decisions.

Developing a credible net-emission model is therefore essential to strengthen the financing and investment case for the red meat industry. Such a model would enable producers, financiers, insurers and policymakers to better understand the true environmental performance of livestock systems, recognise carbon sequestration potential, support ESG-linked financing products, reduce perceived investment risk and unlock sustainable growth capital for production expansion, especially for developing and emerging farmers

 

Research Need: Develop a scientifically defensible, South African livestock-specific net-emission measurement and modelling framework that can be used to support ESG reporting, financing, insurance and investment decision-making in the red meat industry. The research should commence with a comprehensive assessment of existing greenhouse gas, carbon sequestration, soil carbon, rangeland, biodiversity and livestock production datasets, models, methodologies and initiatives currently being undertaken by industry organisations, research institutions, commodity bodies, government agencies and other stakeholders. The aim should be to leverage existing knowledge, investments and scientific evidence, identify priority knowledge gaps, and avoid unnecessary duplication of ongoing work.

The research should generate, consolidate and validate empirical data on greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, soil carbon, rangeland and vegetation carbon storage, manure and waste emissions, animal production efficiency, biome differences and production system variation across beef, sheep, goat, mohair, dairy and mixed farming systems. Where suitable South African datasets already exist, these should be incorporated, assessed and validated rather than unnecessarily replicated. The resulting framework should measure both emissions and removals to determine net emissions in a manner that is scientifically robust, transparent, practical and aligned with recognised standards such as ISO 14067, the GHG Protocol, LULUCF principles and future IPCC reporting requirements.

The research must develop and validate a South African science-based net-emission model that accurately reflects local production systems, environmental conditions and carbon sequestration dynamics, thereby ensuring scientific credibility, industry acceptance and practical applicability. The outputs should provide a credible evidence base for industry, policymakers, financiers and insurers to assess the environmental performance and sustainability of livestock production systems.

The research should further demonstrate how validated net-emission data can be incorporated into financial and insurance models for developing and commercial producers by linking environmental performance with production benchmarks, ESG indicators, risk profiles and investment readiness. This should provide financiers and insurers with reliable, scientifically validated industry data to support climate-smart lending, ESG-linked finance, insurance products and investment frameworks that reduce perceived sector risk, improve access to capital and support sustainable production expansion across the South African red meat value chain.

Many beef production systems continue to rely on traditional management practices despite increasing pressure to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability. While significant investments have been made in technologies such as precision livestock farming, digital data collection and the Beef Genomic Programme, there remains limited empirical evidence demonstrating their impact on key production indicators.

Consequently, producers lack the practical data and decision-support tools needed to quantify and optimise factors influencing growth rates, conception rates, calving percentages, feed efficiency, animal performance and seasonal production differences, such as the comparative performance of summer- and winter-born calves.

The absence of integrated production benchmarking and data-driven performance intelligence limits the industry’s ability to validate genetic gains, improve management decisions and maximise returns on investment in advanced livestock technologies.

 

Research Need: Conduct empirical, data-driven research to evaluate and quantify the impact of precision livestock farming technologies, genomic technologies and data-driven management practices on animal performance, productivity and profitability across South Africa’s diverse livestock production systems. The research should recognise the significant differences between production environments, biomes, climatic conditions and farming systems, and should therefore assess technology adoption, performance outcomes, constraints and opportunities across different provinces and production regions, including commercial, emerging and communal livestock enterprises.

The research should generate evidence on factors influencing growth rates, conception rates, calving percentages, fertility, feed efficiency, survival rates, carcass performance and seasonal production differences. Emphasis should be placed on understanding how geographical location, production environment, management practices and production systems influence the effectiveness and economic viability of precision livestock farming and genomic interventions. Pilot studies conducted in selected regions or production systems may be used to identify region-specific challenges, validate technologies under local conditions and generate evidence for broader industry application.

The research should further develop regionally relevant production benchmarks, validate genetic and management interventions, and create practical decision-support tools that enable producers to make evidence-based management decisions. Findings should be used to identify common principles as well as regional differences that should be considered when developing industry benchmarks, recommendations and implementation frameworks.

The research must quantify the economic and production benefits of specific interventions by demonstrating measurable improvements in key performance indicators, including return on investment (ROI), cost of production, profitability per kilogram produced (R/kg), feed conversion efficiency, carcass yield, reproductive performance and overall enterprise profitability. Research outputs should provide credible evidence of the financial and production impact of precision livestock and genomic technologies, enabling producers to assess the viability, scalability and commercial value of adopting these interventions within different South African production environments and value-chain segments.

Large volumes of potentially valuable livestock by-products remain underutilised or are sold with minimal value addition, limiting profitability, resource efficiency and diversification opportunities across the red meat value chain. While products such as hides, blood, tallow, horns, offal, collagen, marrow and other secondary products have significant commercial potential, there is limited scientific information on their nutritional composition, chemical characteristics, food safety, quality attributes and consumer acceptability.

This constrains product development, market expansion and consumer confidence, while reducing opportunities to create higher-value products for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, nutraceutical and industrial markets. As a result, the industry lacks the empirical evidence and commercial pathways required to maximise the value of secondary products and improve overall carcass utilisation.

 

Research Need: Develop commercially viable value chains for hides, blood, tallow, horns, offal, collagen, marrow, fifth-quarter products and other secondary products through empirical research that assesses their nutritional value, chemical composition, quality characteristics, consumer safety and market potential. The research should identify opportunities for value addition, verify product safety and compliance requirements, evaluate consumer acceptance and develop commercially sustainable business models and product innovation pathways. Emphasis should be placed on generating scientific evidence that supports the development of higher-value food, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and industrial products, thereby improving carcass utilisation, industry profitability and market diversification.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of this challenge, collaborative research teams comprising animal scientists, food scientists, veterinarians, chemists, consumer scientists and agricultural economists are strongly recommended. Such collaboration should ensure that scientific findings on product composition, safety and functionality are integrated with market analysis, value-chain assessment, economic feasibility studies, business model development and commercialisation strategies to maximise industry adoption and economic returns from secondary products.

Emerging and communal livestock producers remain largely excluded from formal domestic and higher-value markets due to limited access to appropriate, affordable and compliant slaughter and processing infrastructure. Conventional abattoir models are often geographically inaccessible, financially unviable or poorly suited to dispersed communal production systems, resulting in high transport costs, reduced market participation and limited value capture at producer level. While rural abattoirs and mobile processing solutions have the potential to improve market access, animal welfare, meat quality, local economic development and value-chain participation, there is limited evidence regarding their technical feasibility, regulatory compliance, veterinary requirements, commercial viability and scalability within diverse South African production environments. Consequently, the red meat industry lacks evidence-based models to guide investment, policy development and the sustainable expansion of rural slaughter and processing infrastructure.

 

Research Need: Investigate and develop sustainable rural abattoir models and mobile processing solutions that improve market access for emerging and communal livestock producers. The research should evaluate the technical, veterinary, regulatory, animal welfare and commercial requirements for establishing and expanding rural slaughter facilities and mobile abattoir systems.

Emphasis should be placed on assessing operational viability, food safety and compliance requirements, throughput potential, cost-effectiveness, business models, ownership structures and investment requirements. The research should generate practical implementation frameworks that support the development of scalable, financially sustainable and compliant rural processing infrastructure capable of strengthening local value chains, improving producer participation in formal markets and enhancing the economic viability of communal and emerging livestock enterprises.