Current Projects

When FMD outbreaks occur, movement restrictions and quarantines reduce slaughtering, disrupt exports, and increase input costs at farms and feedlots. These impacts create direct losses in cattle production, indirect losses across suppliers and processors, and induced losses as reduced wages and profits lower spending in the broader economy. The combined effect weakens value chains, reduces GDP, lowers household income, and threatens employment.

The study also highlights the high costs of disease control, longer feedlot holding periods, lost offal and hide value, and cancelled stud auctions. Overall, the findings confirm that FMD causes large ripple effects throughout the economy, underscoring the importance of effective disease management, science based regulation, and faster recovery solutions to limit long term economic damage to the red meat industry.

This research will conclude in the third quarter with the release of the final research report.

Research completed to date has mapped and updated the South African red meat value chain across beef, sheep and goat meat, providing a clear picture of how animals and products move from producers to consumers. The study highlights the dual structure of the industry, with both well developed commercial systems and a large emerging and communal sector playing important roles.

Beef remains the largest component of the value chain, supported by feedlots, abattoirs, formal retail, and a strong by product market for offal and hides. Sheep meat production is more concentrated in commercial systems but faces long term pressure from drought and declining flock numbers. Goat meat production is largely informal, with most animals slaughtered and consumed at household level, reflecting cultural and traditional uses rather than formal market demand.

Across all value chains, offal and by products contribute significantly to food security and income, especially in informal markets. The research provides an important evidence base to support improved planning, policy development, market access initiatives, and targeted support for both commercial and emerging producers within the red meat industry.
The research will be concluded in the fourth quarter and will include additional economic and market analysis.

Research conducted to date provides a comprehensive baseline review of how emerging livestock farmers operate across different land access systems, notably communal and freehold land, and how these systems affect the success of development support programmes in South Africa.

The study confirms that emerging farmers are not a uniform group. Their farming approaches, productivity levels, and ability to commercialise differ significantly depending on land tenure, governance arrangements, access to finance, and market integration.

Communal farming systems are mainly subsistence oriented, constrained by shared grazing, weak governance, limited biosecurity, and lack of collateral for investment. Freehold systems, in contrast, enable greater control, infrastructure development, and adoption of commercial practices. A substantial productivity gap exists between these systems, driven largely by differences in herd management, animal health, nutrition, and access to support services.

The research highlights that many development programmes underperform because they apply one size fits all solutions and focus on inputs rather than markets. Evidence shows that market access, long term mentorship, targeted support based on land access, and integration into value chains are the key drivers of sustainable farmer progression.

Designing support programmes that recognise these differences is critical to achieving meaningful inclusive growth in the livestock sector. This research will be made available for public access in the third quarter.

Research to date has focused on developing a practical, risk based annual cattle vaccination plan as a foundation for effective herd health and biosecurity. The work explains how vaccination fits within broader disease prevention measures such as nutrition, parasite control, quarantine, and movement management.

A standardised planning framework has been developed that aligns vaccinations with seasonality, animal age groups, and production stages. Key principles of immunity and vaccine use are outlined to support correct timing and effectiveness.

The research also provides a clear, veterinarian led process for disease risk assessment, vaccine selection, budgeting, and record keeping. Together, this work provides a structured, adaptable approach to improving herd health, productivity, and long term sustainability.

Further research will include a pilot project and the setup and rollout of a national survey, after which a consolidated research report will be finalised in Quarter 4

The Beef Grading: Market Development Framework research focuses on developing a quality based beef marketing strategy for South Africa that better aligns the beef grading and classification system with consumer preferences, market requirements, and value chain transparency.

The objective is to support market growth, improve price discovery, and enable more inclusive participation across the red meat industry. To date, the research has progressed through an extensive market and consumer analysis, including a review of existing literature, assessment of product market opportunities, and evaluation of beef quality preferences locally and internationally.

Initial benchmarking of South Africa’s current grading system against international systems such as MSA and AUS MEAT is underway. In parallel, fieldwork through high throughput abattoir visits has provided practical insight into current grading application challenges. Research is also advancing on how indigenous cattle breeds can be fairly and effectively incorporated into an updated grading framework.

Research to follow includes finalising the grading roadmap, completing the integrated Market Development Framework, and consolidating stakeholder inputs into a cohesive, actionable strategy. A final research report will be concluded in the third quarter, providing the industry with a robust, data driven roadmap for a modernised, market responsive beef grading system.

The completed RMIS‑commissioned research provides a comprehensive, evidence‑based assessment of livestock theft in South Africa and the effectiveness of the Livestock Theft Prevention Forums across national, provincial, and local levels.

It finds that while reported livestock theft cases have declined and producer reporting to SAPS has improved significantly, the financial impact of theft has increased sharply, recovery rates have stagnated, and the gap between losses and recoveries continues to widen, particularly for cattle and goats.

The study concludes that the current prevention framework is undermined by uneven forum functionality, weak visibility and participation at local level, unclear governance and leadership roles, under‑integration of technology, and limited community confidence in outcomes.

Overall, the research confirms that livestock theft remains a systemic risk to the red meat value chain and that meaningful progress will require clearer leadership, stronger coordination, improved investigative and recovery capacity, and more effective stakeholder engagement—findings that RMIS will communicate and action through its structured stakeholder engagement and communication plan.