Agri Hour
Nerpo continues its quest against the national ban on public livestock auctions─── CHRISTAL-LIZE MULLER 06:49 Wed, 29 Jan 2020
The National Emergent Red Meat Producers Organisation, Nerpo, is joining other roleplayers in the industry in a plea to the agriculture minister, Thoko Didiza, to lift the national moratorium on public livestock auctions.
This follows the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development’s gazetting of a national ban on the gathering of cloven-hoofed animals that affects auctions and exhibitions. Nerpo’s managing director, Aggrey Mahanjana, says the department has taken far-reaching decisions to temporarily ban public livestock auctions nationally. OFM News’ Christal-Lize Muller spoke to him…
See PODCAST below
According to him the organisation would not have had a problem if public auctions were prohibited only in the affected province, which in this case is Limpopo. Mahanjana says the ban is too drastic with about 90% of all smallholder farmers relying on public auctions to access the livestock market. These farmers don't send their animals directly to abattoirs for slaughtering purposes like commercial producers. Mahanjana says emerging farmers use livestock public auctions as the only livestock marketing channel and price-determining mechanism. These farmer’s livelihood depends on livestock and they are now facing a devastating future.
He says a livestock identification and traceability system is also vital for South Africa.
OFM News
